


The Fall - The Rise

by barbitone



Series: Voltron Fanfiction [5]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Action/Adventure, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Dark, Drinking, F/F, M/M, Morally Ambiguous Character, Morally Ambiguous Lotor, Origin Story, Prequel, Prostitution, Voltron Art, Whump, Young Lotor, dark themes, dubcon, exiled lotor, lotor whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-14
Updated: 2018-11-22
Packaged: 2019-08-23 19:30:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 30,581
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16625075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/barbitone/pseuds/barbitone
Summary: After he was exiled Lotor had nothing. He had to build everything from scratch, starting with assembling his Generals.Prequel fic to Waiting for a Different Dawn, though the first four chapters work well as a standalone story about how Lotor picked himself up and became the dubious villain we all know and love.





	1. Part I: The Girl in the Glass Tank

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Waiting for a Different Dawn](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16183940) by [barbitone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/barbitone/pseuds/barbitone). 



> Please mind the warnings regarding the dubcon/prostitution. We start in a place of desperation, and Lotor agrees to things he in no way wants because he feels like it's the only way for him to move forward. The first chapter will be the worst of it but there will be hints throughout. If you're concerned and you'd like more info feel free to get in touch with me on tumblr.
> 
> Thank you to my lovely beta [Lutz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lutz/pseuds/lutz)\- your support is hugely appreciated!

 

* * *

 

 

“Where are we going, Jainak? I wanted to see the acrobats-”

Jainak laughed and took a drink from his flask. “The acrobats are boring, Lotor. Everyone knows the good shit’s in the back.”

“They’re not boring-”

“Come _on_ already,” Jainak said and tightened his grip on Lotor’s wrist, yanking him forward.

“You’re hurting me,” Lotor said, wincing. Jainak was stronger than him, taller by at least a head. That was what he’d liked about the Galra from the start, he’d made him feel safe at first. Not so much anymore. It was still better than being alone, and he wasn’t all bad. Sometimes, when he was in a good mood, he almost made Lotor feel something like happy.

“For fuck’s sake,” Jainak said, but let go all the same. “Do you ever stop _whining_? Just take another drink and shut the fuck up. We’re going.” He shoved the flask into Lotor’s hand and Lotor did as he was told, taking a deep swig. “Fuck, leave some for me,” Jainak said, snatching it back.

Lotor’s vision was already a little blurry, they’d been drinking for hours now as they stumbled through the carnival so he didn’t see the sign on the tent Jainak dragged him into. It was dark and silent inside and Lotor shivered as he looked around. There was a placard that read “freaks and half-breeds” in front of a glass case and Lotor’s blood ran cold. Inside the case was a model, or some kind of- of- taxidermied _thing_ that looked like a horrific amalgamation of at least three different alien races. There was another case beside it, and another- the room was full of them.

“What the hell, Jainak?” Lotor breathed out, eyes wide. “Why would you bring me here?”

“I thought you’d feel right at home,” Jainak said with a cruel laugh.

“What the fuck did you just say to me?” Lotor demanded, hands curling into fists at his sides. He felt hot shame rising through him and tears prickling at his eyes.

“It was a _joke_ ,” Jainak hissed. “Lighten the fuck up, Lotor. Come on,” he said, taking Lotor’s wrist again, “it’s almost time for them to feed the freaks.”

“What?” Lotor gasped. “ _No-_ ” he breathed out but it was too late, Jainak was dragging him past a curtain into the next room. There were maybe a dozen people waiting there, gathered around a large circular glass tank. The room was otherwise empty.

“There used to be two of them,” Jainak said with disappointment. “I guess the other died.”

“Jainak, what is this?” Lotor asked, feeling sick again.

“Just watch. They really make it work for it. It’s hilarious.”

Jainak took him by the shoulders and forced him over to the tank. Lotor gasped as the bottom dropped out of his stomach, he felt his heart shrinking as he stared.

There was a girl inside, half Galra and half- something else. She didn’t have eyes.

She was sitting on the ground with her knees and tail tucked up to her chest, wearing a ripped and dirty shift. Her head was smooth and hairless, she had two small ears that twitched a little and a flat nose above an oddly fanged mouth. She seemed scared.

Lotor thought he was about to throw up.

There was a ladder leaning against the tank, which he realized now had no top, and a man climbed up, holding something on a rope.

“Jainak-” Lotor whispered, shaking.

“Shh,” he said dismissively, eyes glittering with sick pleasure as he watched the man lower the thing on the rope inside. The girl reached for it just to have the man yank it away, over and over again.

“This is fucked up!” Lotor exclaimed.

Jainak tightened his grip over his shoulders and gave him a vicious little shake. “Shut up baby, you’re making a scene.”

“Someone has to!” Lotor yelled, ripping himself away from him and turning his back to the tank to stare at all the sick fucks that were here, watching this. “This isn’t right! Who is she? Let her go!”

“Shut your goddamn mouth before I shut it for you,” Jainak hissed coldly.

“Just you try it,” Lotor bit out. “I fucking dare you.”

Jainak backhanded him hard over the face and Lotor gasped as he stumbled to the ground. Even as he raised his shaking fingers to touch his burning cheek he couldn’t quite believe that had really just happened. There were shocked tears streaming down his face and that just made everything a thousand times worse.

“You don’t get to act all high and mighty,” Jainak said. “You’re not a prince anymore, you’re just a nobody like the rest of us, living in the shit. And I don’t let nobodies talk to me like that.”

Oh fuck. Lotor shut his eyes as he tried not to vomit.

“Aw jeez,” Jainak said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “I’m sorry baby. Come on, let me make it up to you,” he said, reaching out towards him. Lotor flinched away from him and staggered unsteadily to his feet without his help.

“Don’t touch me,” he said. “Don’t you ever touch me again.”

“Fuck you!” Jainak yelled. “You’re just a fucking slut anyway-”

The world went silent around him as Lotor’s hands tightened into fists and he punched Jainak in the chin with all his strength. He heard a sickening crack and Jainak stumbled back from him.

“You two need to get the hell out of here before I call the guards,” the man who’d been holding the rope said. Lotor turned on him and kneed him in the nuts.

“ _Glad to_ ,” he hissed as the man fell gasping to the ground.

Lotor stormed out of the nightmare tent, the fresh air outside somehow only making him more dizzy than before. He’d had too much to drink, the side of his face was hot and aching, he was crying uncontrollably. Why was everything so _fucked_? He leaned over, trying to catch his breath, but that had been the wrong thing to do. Nausea rose unstoppable in his throat and he only just managed to stumble over to a trash can before he was hurling.

“Fuck,” he whispered and closed his eyes.

 

* * *

 

Lotor groaned as he woke. He had a monster hangover and he was shivering. He was lying on something cold and hard and when he opened his eyes he saw he was in a jail cell. Fucking perfect.

“Look who’s finally awake,” a Galra provincial guard said from a desk just outside the cell. He was casually flipping through some kind of pornographic magazine. “You’re in luck, the magistrate has a bad case of food poisoning so we’re letting all our drunks off with fines and warnings. Come over here so I can process your paperwork.”

“Don’t you think you should maybe unlock the cell first?” Lotor asked, wincing as he sat up. His right foot landed in something wet and- fuck. Where was his right boot?

“Lost the key a while back,” the guard shrugged. “It’s not locked.”

“Really?” Lotor muttered. The great Galra Empire in action. What a joke. He stood on shaking legs and managed to walk over to the door, opening it easily. The hinges squeaked and he winced, the sound like a spike driving through his head.

The guard put down his magazine to read through a report on a datapad. “Aren’t you a fun one,” he said.

“I don’t feel particularly fun right about now,” Lotor said, dropping into the rickety chair across from the man’s desk.

“We’ve got you on drunk and disorderly, petty theft, property damage. A bit of arson too, you were busy last night! And of course, there’s the public urination.”

Lotor winced. He didn’t remember much about the previous night but the listing of his various crimes was bringing back vague hazy memories. “The arson was an accident,” he said, “and I was trying to put it out, so you can go ahead and move the public urination into the doing my civic duty column.”

The guard laughed. “I’ll take that under advisement. Alright, let’s see some identification.”

“I don’t have any,” Lotor said. “Someone stole my coat.”

“I really don’t care,” the guard said. “Whatever, let’s just get to the fine. With the standard fees, the processing fees, the jail fees, the property damage- you’re looking at a hundred thousand GAC. You’re getting off kind of easy here, to be honest, looking at your rap sheet I would have bet on at least triple that.”

“I’m sitting here with only one boot on,” Lotor said slowly. “What about that makes you think I have a hundred thousand GAC? Are you some kind of moron?”

“Easy, kid, I’m not the asshole who tried to fight a statue last night.”

“Hell, he’s awake before two? I owe the Commander a drink now,” another guard said as he walked in.

Lotor glared up at him and the guard’s eyes widened.

“Hey- don’t I know you from somewhere?”

“ _No_ ,” Lotor bit out.

“Yeah! I know you! Aren’t you that exiled prince? What’s his name- Shitor?”

“ _Lotor!”_ Lotor yelled.

“Yeah, whichever. My sister has a poster of you in her room, from your academy graduation. I’m pretty sure she kisses it and tucks it into bed with her every night.” The guard laughed. “She’d piss herself if she could see you now.”

Lotor winced and looked away, but not before he saw the guard’s eyes light up with glee. Great, what _now_.

“Listen, let me get a picture with you and we’ll waive the fine.”

“No,” Lotor said. “I’m not some kind of circus clown, alright?”

“Great, pay the fine then,” the first guard said.

“Obviously I can’t pay the fine.”

“Then take the picture.”

Lotor sighed and ran his hands through his shoulder-length hair, wincing as he felt something weirdly sticky catching on his fingers. “Come on- I’ve been through hell. Can’t you just- give me a break?”

“Just take the damn picture! What’s the big deal? You’re going to make my sister’s whole year!”

“Fine! I’ll take the stupid picture!”

The guard grinned and pulled a small device out of his pocket. “Smile!” he said and snapped a photo of the two of them before pulling back to look at the results. “Hell, you look like someone died. Come on- you have to smile for my sister.”

“No,” Lotor said, flushing with embarrassment. “That wasn’t the deal- the deal was a picture and you got your picture so just- let me go already.”

“You’re not exactly in the position to be making any demands here, _Prince,_ ” the guard said sharply.

“Ugh,” Lotor groaned, dropping his face into his hands. Fuck. Fine- _fine_. He could do this, he’d done more for less. It was just a smile, just a picture. It would take a second and then it would be over. He tried arranging the muscles of his face into a smile, the expression no longer familiar, and when he looked up the guard grinned.

“Yeah! Like that. Here-” he snapped another photo and he seemed pleased now. Lotor let his expression go blank again as he felt tears prickling at his eyes.

“Can I go now?” he forced out.

“Yeah, fine. Try to stay out of trouble.”

“ _Thanks_ ,” Lotor hissed and stood to walk unsteadily out of the station.

He winced at the bright sunlight, blinking as he stood on the steps for a long moment. What now? Without Jainak he was basically homeless, again. He’d left most of his stuff on that asshole’s shuttle and there was no way he was going back there now. Back to square one then. Again.

He rifled through his pockets to see what he had on him. The entirety of his worldly possessions amounted to the clothes he was wearing, three smooth shiny stones, a bent fork, and a thousand GAC, a pittance. It would be barely enough to buy a meal or two. His stomach grumbled, he hadn’t had anything to eat since yesterday morning and he was starving. The ache of it was nothing compared to the agony of the yawning emptiness in his chest. He needed something to fill it, stifle it, forget about it.

He went to find a bar instead. His feet took him to a place he’d been before and the bartender looked up at him with recognition, eyes falling to the bruise over his face.

“I see Jainak finally got tired of your smart mouth,” he said.

“I’m not here to chat,” Lotor muttered. “I just want a drink.”

“I’ll sell you a drink, but you can’t drink it in here- reeking like that.”

“Fine, give me a bottle of something cheap.”

The man handed him something and Lotor dumped the entirety of his fortune, such as it was, on the bar before leaving. He didn’t go far, just found a relatively dry crate in the back alley and sat before wrestling with the cork of what turned out to be a particularly shitty bottle of whiskey.

He heard meowing and looked down to see Kova staring up at him. “Where have _you_ been?” Lotor muttered. He’d made himself scarce as soon as Lotor started- not dating, exactly- more like fucking around with Jainak. He couldn’t believe the cat had more sense than he did.

Kova blinked slowly. “Please don’t be an asshole to me right now,” Lotor begged, feeling like a total idiot. The cat tilted his head to the side and jumped to curl up in Lotor’s lap, purring. Lotor let his head fall back against the wall behind him and started petting Kova cautiously, taking another drink.

After the order for his exile had been announced he’d had time to grab one thing before he had to make a hasty exit from the command system. And what did he grab? The cash he’d stashed in his room? His jewelry box full of gold? No, he’d grabbed Haggar’s dumb ugly cat, just as a final fuck-you to her. Kova had scratched the shit out of him too, but they were sort of friends by now. It had been kind of nice to have a little companionship for the past two years that wasn’t a shitty boyfriend or assholes that just wanted to fuck him over.

The back door to the bar slammed open and a man stumbled out drunkenly before tripping and falling to the ground next to the crate Lotor was sitting on.

“Hey,” Lotor said, poking him with his toes.

“Gnnnh,” the man groaned and pissed himself.

“Fantastic,” Lotor muttered, feeling like he was staring at his future. He leaned a little closer, squinting as Kova meowed unhappily and jumped off him. The man was wearing Lotor’s boot. Lotor didn’t hesitate to wrestle it off his foot and slide it back over his own. He’d passed out on his front and for the most part his coat was relatively unstained by urine, so Lotor took that too and slid it over his shoulders. It was a little damp and smelled like shit, but it was delightfully warm all the same. There was a red fruit and a tin of some kind of preserved fish in an inside pocket, as well as a small handful of GAC.

Finally, things were looking up. Lotor ate the fruit slowly as he kept an eye on the stranger to make sure he was still breathing. Just as Lotor finished, the man started throwing up. Lotor pushed him out of the puddle of his own sick, leaving him lying in the alley on his side.

“Hope things look up for you too, buddy,” Lotor said and stood to go find a different alley to get drunk in. He wandered aimlessly for a while until he ended up in the main square of the tiny backwards town, staring at a fountain with a statue of Zarkon in it. And yeah, he remembered something about that now, too. He laughed bitterly before dropping to his knees to dunk his head under the water, trying to rinse the stickiness out of his hair. He felt a little better after, even as some old woman came up to him shaking her finger.

“You can’t do that here, young man!” she croaked angrily.

“You can fuck right off,” Lotor snarled and she backed away. He ducked his head back under one more time just to piss her off before wringing his hair out as best he could, shaking his head. Kova hissed as droplets hit him and padded a short distance away until he was finished. Time was moving so slowly it was practically standing still. He had nowhere to be, nothing to do. He had nothing, full stop.

He needed to figure out where he was going to sleep tonight, probably. How he was going to not starve to death, or if that was even a goal worth pursuing. Lotor found himself standing and walking- somewhere. Anything just to keep moving. The townsfolk threw him dirty looks but he had only so many things he could care about at a time.

He was only a little surprised to find himself back at the carnival and didn’t hesitate to slip through the hole in the fence Jainak had shown him last night. He stayed to the edges of the grounds, trying to be inconspicuous, until he was back at the tent.

He found an out-of-the-way spot and sat, Kova purring as he rubbed himself against Lotor’s legs. Lotor drank, and waited. Time passed and it grew dark, the carnival growing busy as the townsfolk got off work. Lotor watched with narrowed eyes as people entered and left the tent, picking up the sounds of laughter and soft shocked gasps from within. He hated them all with a deep passion he hadn’t thought he was capable of anymore, the smoldering burn of it filling up the emptiness inside him until he was shaking.

Probably he should stop drinking and- the bottle was empty anyway. He let it drop from his slack fingers and roll away. The carnival was going quiet now as it got later and finally the man, the man who’d had the rope, left the tent and everything went silent. Lotor sat for a while longer and when he stood he nearly fell over, tripping over the stupid cat.

“Sorry Kova,” he muttered. Shit, he was definitely too drunk for this now. But he was still doing it, he had to. For a second he was worried the tent would be locked, but then he laughed at himself a little, wondering how someone would even go about locking a tent. He kept his eyes perfectly forward as he walked in, not looking at any of the cases in the first room, and then he was past and in the second room, the room with the girl.

It was nearly pitch black but if Lotor could thank his genocidal asshole Galra father for anything, it was his excellent night-vision.

The girl was there, curled up on the ground without even a blanket, but she scrambled up into a sitting position when he came in, pressing herself as far back from him as she could.

“Hey,” Lotor whispered. “Hey, I’m not gonna hurt you.” Was he slurring his words? Shit, this was a terrible idea. She was just going to be even more scared of him now. He dropped to his knees in front of the glass, pressing his hands to it. “Do you remember me? I was here last night. I got in that fight, if you could call it that. It’s not right what they’re doing to you.” He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to the cool glass, trying not to cry on top of it all. He wanted to throw up again but he was going to keep it together this time, he was.

“What’s your name?” he asked, and when he opened his eyes he was surprised to see that she was carefully drawing closer. She pressed her palms to his, on the other side of the glass. She had no eyes but somehow he could tell she was… not _looking_ at him, but something like it. Her ears were twitching a little in his direction. How old was she? He couldn’t tell, he’d be shocked if she was older than fifteen, at most. She was so small though, so maybe she was younger. How long had she been here, trapped by these savages?

“My name is Lotor,” he said. “I know I seem like kind of an asshole, but I came here to help you.”

Kova sat and put his paws on the glass and the girl turned towards him, something almost like a smile over her lips.

“That’s my cat, Kova,” Lotor said. “He’s kind of an asshole too, to be honest.” Kova looked at him a little accusingly. “Well you are,” Lotor said to him, forgetting where he was for a second. But the girl was definitely smiling now, so maybe that was ok then.

“Listen, I came here to rescue you. I don’t really know what I’m doing, but I know that much. Do you want to come with me?”

She turned her face back to him silently and he sighed. “You don’t talk much, huh?” His eyes caught on the ladder still leaning against the crate. “Ok, I’m just gonna- I’m just gonna give you my hand, ok? And if you want to get out of here- you just. You take it. And then we’ll just go. We’ll just go.”

Suddenly he wanted that more than anything.

Climbing up the ladder made him dizzy but he managed it, and then he was leaning down into the tank and offering the girl his hand. She stood and walked over to him nervously, but after a few moments of hesitation she took it. For a second Lotor felt odd, almost like his mind was a book someone was rifling through, but then the feeling passed and Lotor tightened his grip.

“Hold on tight,” he said and started to lift her up. He wasn’t exactly in the shape of his life anymore but he hadn’t completely let himself go and she was impossibly light. Still, his arm and shoulder were burning by the time she was high up enough to wrap an arm around his neck and he could hold her by the waist, lifting her out of the tank completely. The ladder wobbled underneath them and he froze, but then he was in control again as he stepped down slowly and set her on the ground. She was only about as tall as his chest when they stood next to each other. She was so painfully thin he was furious all over again.

“Ok,” he breathed out shakily. What the hell was he doing. “Ok.” One thing at a time.

She was shivering in her dirty shift so Lotor took off his stolen coat to drape it over her narrow shoulders. The night was cold and she wasn’t wearing shoes either and there wasn’t much he could do about that other than take off his scarf and tear it in half, kneeling in front of her to wrap up her feet.

“Ok, ready to go?”

She nodded and reached out for his hand so Lotor gave it to her it without a second thought, trying to be the reassuring adult instead of the drunk fuck-up. Shit, he was so drunk though. He really shouldn’t have done that but it was too late now. He just needed to think about one thing at a time, just take a step forward, and then another.

In the morning the asshole with the rope would come back and find the girl missing, and they needed to be as far away as possible by then, in the next town over at least. Off planet, ideally, but Lotor wasn’t kidding himself that he’d be able to manage that one. But the next town over- he could make it that far.

He led the girl out of the tent and towards the hole in the carnival fence. There was a road, and roads generally led to places, and that’s exactly where they were headed, any place but here. Kova ran out into the forest and the girl jerked anxiously, following him with her ears.

“Don’t worry, he’ll be back when he feels like it,” Lotor said, tightening his hand a little over hers. She smiled.

After an hour he realized she was slowing down, limping a little, and he stopped. She looked up at him nervously, yanking lightly on his hand to keep him walking forward.

“No, hold on- are you hurt?”

She didn’t answer, which he took to mean yes. She couldn’t have gotten a lot of exercise in that tank, she was probably exhausted already.

“Ok,” Lotor said, kneeling on the ground. “I’m going to carry you, ok? Climb on my back, it’s going to be alright.” She seemed a little uncertain but then she did as he asked, wrapping her arms around his neck and letting him support her legs. She arranged the coat so it was draped over both of them, covering his shoulders. “Thanks,” he said, so impossibly touched he nearly cried again.

He wasn’t sure if he was still drunk or if he was hungover, but either way he felt awful. The world was spinning around him slowly and there was a sick feeling in his stomach like a weird mix of hunger and nausea. The side of his face felt hot and swollen, his temples were throbbing. But that was fine. That much he could handle.

Before all this, he’d been a soldier. He’d completed the most challenging course at the Academy at the top of his class. He’d set a fucking record during his coming of age ceremony, defeating more consecutive opponents in the arena than anyone in recorded history. It had taken hours, and by the end of it he’d had a broken arm and a dislocated knee and he _still_ defeated five more before passing out from blood loss. He’d _earned_ his first command after serving on the front lines for years under Ranveig, it wasn’t just handed to him like everyone thought.

Lotor set his jaw, trying to find the steel core that had been forged within him through years of work and suffering and striving for greatness. He could do this.

He walked until morning, falling into an almost meditative state, until the sunrise startled him. He was pretty sure the girl was sleeping and he hated to wake her but he knew he needed to stop and take a break before his legs gave out for good.

“There’s a can,” Lotor said when they sat down in a clearing. His back was aching something fierce but he wasn’t going to let it show. “In your pocket.” He mimed pulling something out of the coat before he remembered she couldn’t see, but she was patting down the coat anyway until she found the can. “It’s for you- you should eat. Do you eat that?”

She shrugged a little, feeling around on the can before she found the pull tab and opened it. She tried one of the little preserved fish inside and smiled before offering it to him. The smell was like a physical blow and Lotor reeled back, so nauseous he was practically dizzy with it. “No, I can’t,” he managed before stumbling away to vomit into the bushes. It was mostly acidic liquid and Lotor stood with his trembling hand pressed to his lips for a long time after, eyes screwed shut. He still wanted to throw up but there was nothing left now, and he needed to just- calm down.

Jainak had made him breakfast two days ago, and since then he’d just had liquor and the fruit from the drunk guy’s coat. Jainak had burned the sausage, as usual, and they’d fought about it. He’d said awful things, and that was why they’d gone to the carnival in the first place, so Jainak could make it up to him. Lotor kind of missed him despite everything and that was just- _pathetic_. He was fucking pathetic.

Maybe he shouldn’t have even bothered with the girl, now they were both going to end up starving to death in some ditch. He startled at the feeling of thin fingers wrapping around his wrist and turned to see her looking up at him quizzically.

“It’s fine,” he said. “Everything’s fine.” Everything was not fine, and she tilted her head to the side as if she didn’t believe him. “We should keep going,” he said, looking past her to see Kova licking at the oil inside the empty can. “Look- told you he’d be back.”

She turned around and smiled.

He carried her for the rest of the day, and god did everything hurt. Each step was agony, mostly because he was sobering up now, really sobering up for the first time in- weeks, maybe. Maybe months. They reached a town by evening, which was a minor miracle, and Lotor tried to be inconspicuous as he looked for the sort of place where someone may help them. He found it at last, some dirty hybrid between a bar and an inn, and made his way to the alley behind the squat building.

“Wait here,” he told the girl, leaving her a few steps back before he went to bang on the back door. It wasn’t late enough yet for a place like this to be busy, so within a few minutes a tall Galra man was opening the door to stare down at him suspiciously.

“What do you want?” he asked, wrinkling his nose.

“We need a room,” Lotor said.

“We?” the man asked, looking around until he spotted the girl. “Who’s she?”

Lotor’s mind went blank for a moment. He really maybe should have thought this through. “She’s my sister,” he said at last.

“What am I, an idiot? She’s not your fucking sister.”

“Look, what does it matter? We need a room, can you help us or not?”

“We’ve got rooms,” the man said slowly.

“Great. We don’t have any money.”

“Uh-huh,” the man said, clearly unimpressed.

Lotor steeled himself for what he had to do next and licked his lips nervously, putting a hand out to steady himself on the wall. “Maybe we can make a trade,” he said quietly, forcing his voice into something low and suggestive as he looked up into the man’s eyes.

The man leered at him. “You’ve got some balls trying to fuck a free room out of me,” he said. “You look like someone chewed you up and spit you out and you smell like you’ve been sleeping in the gutter. ”

“A shower and some fresh clothes would fix that pretty quickly,” Lotor said.

“What about the girl?” the man asked.

“If you even _think_ about touching the girl I’ll fucking gut you,” Lotor hissed. “It’s me or we find somewhere else to go.”

The Galra laughed. “You’re a little feisty, huh? Fine, I can work with that.”

“Alright,” Lotor said shakily, relief warring with dread. “I want a room and fresh clothes for both of us, and boots for my sister. And dinner. Throw in breakfast while you’re at it.”

“You’re pretty demanding,” the Galra frowned.

“I’ll make it worth your while,” Lotor said, forcing himself to smile.

“You’d better. Shower and clothes first, dinner you’ll get after.”

“Yeah,” Lotor said, holding his hand out to the girl and waiting for her to take it before following the Galra into the building. It was exactly like the dozens of other such places he’d been to, down to the sticky floors and the flickering lighting above the bar. The room the innkeeper showed them into wasn’t too bad. It was clean at least, and the bed would be wide enough for both of them.

“Grab what you want from the wardrobe,” the innkeeper said. “You-” he pointed at Lotor, “I’ll be waiting downstairs for. Don’t take too long, I’ll have actual customers coming in soon.”

“Fine,” Lotor said.

Once the Galra left Lotor rummaged through the wardrobe and found a decent outfit for himself and the girl, as well as boots that would be way too big for her, but at least they could stuff those with rags.

“I’m going to shower first, ok?” he said, not really looking at her. “You can go after, while I’m gone.”

She didn’t say anything, just sat down on the floor by the bed and gathered Kova to her chest, the cat surprisingly docile in her arms.

“Ok,” Lotor said, swallowing hard before he went into the bathroom. It was fine, it was going to be fine. It wasn’t like this was his first time and it had always worked out- just fine, before.

He didn’t linger, his mind perfectly blank as he washed and got dressed and before he knew it he was walking to the door.

“Dammit, Kova- get out of my way,” he said to the cat winding around his legs. Kova hissed, not letting him pass. “Fuck, would you just-” he bent to scoop up the yowling cat and dumped him in the girl’s arms. “I’ll be back soon. Lock the door and don’t let anyone in. You can wash if you want. There’s no hot water but it’s not so bad.”

She nodded a little and Lotor took a deep breath before leaving, pausing outside the door until he heard the clicking of the lock. Ok. Ok then.

The Galra innkeeper was waiting for him in the main room, wiping spotty glasses behind the bar.

“You’re not so bad cleaned up,” he said appreciatively.

“Thanks,” Lotor muttered as he sat at the counter. “Are you gonna offer me a drink, or what?”

“You’re a pushy little shit,” the man laughed before unceremoniously slamming a bottle down on the bar in front of him. Lotor grabbed it and took a deep swig, not even caring what it was. He was running on fumes so the alcohol hit him like a freight liner, bringing with it the by-now familiar numbness.

He startled at the feeling of hands on him, hadn’t realized the innkeeper had moved behind him. He yanked Lotor off the stool and turned him around, shoving him back against the bar and starting to open the buttons of his shirt. Lotor let him, taking another drink.

“Here,” the innkeeper said, pulling him out towards the center of the room, “bend over the table.”

Lotor stumbled a little as the man pulled off his shirt, then did as he was told and bent over the nearest table, still a little sticky from the night before. He shuddered as the Galra ran a hot hand up his spine and paused at the tattoo on the back of his shoulder, running the edge of his fingernail over it thoughtfully. Fuck. Lotor closed his eyes, doing his best to keep his breathing even.

“Shit,” the man breathed, drawing the word out into something with multiple syllables. “Never thought a runt like you would be an Imperial Soldier. And a Commander, too? How’d you manage that?”

“I’m not anymore,” Lotor bit out.

“Washed out, huh? Couldn’t handle it?”

“Are we here to chat or are you going to fuck me before we both die of old age?”

The innkeeper laughed and bent over him to yank down his pants. “You want me to finger you open first?”

“Couldn’t care less,” Lotor said, hands tightening to grip the edge of the table.

“Have it your way.”

Lotor gritted his teeth and tried not to scream with the pain as the innkeeper pushed his cock into him, already slick with precum. But it was better this way, there were no illusions about what was happening here.

“Relax, baby.”

“I’m not your- ah! _baby-_ ” Lotor gasped as the Galra started thrusting, slowly at first. Lotor wasn’t sure if that was kindness or cruelty, he just wanted this over as soon as possible. “Come _on_ ,” he said, shoving back against him.

“Hell- fine. Whatever you want.”

He started fucking up into him in earnest and Lotor couldn’t stop the gasps falling from his lips. It started to feel good eventually like it always did, Galra pheromones raging through his system, and then he was hard and aching despite himself.

The innkeeper pressed a hand to the middle of his back to push him down against the table and that was just on the edge of what Lotor was willing to allow, but then he moved his hand up to grip the back of his neck and Lotor felt panic rising through him.

“Don’t,” he gasped, suddenly terrified. “I’m not going anywhere, so just- _don’t_.”

“Sure,” the man said easily, moving back to hold him by his hips instead, fitting his fingers over the old bruises Jainak had left there days ago. “Relax,” he said again.

Lotor stayed silent with his eyes screwed shut, pretending he was somewhere else. The room was quiet except for the innkeeper’s grunts and Lotor’s helpless bit-off gasps, and then the Galra’s movements were getting jerky and uneven and he came with a loud sigh.

“I wouldn’t mind doing that again, if you wanted to stay a few nights longer,” the man said with a chuckle, pulling out.

“I guess that depends on how good your cooking is,” Lotor muttered, standing up and shoving his hard dick back into his pants with shaking hands before doing up the fastenings. He bent down unsteadily to grab his shirt, forgotten on the floor, and buttoned it as quickly as he could.

“I don’t get many complaints. Wait here.”

Lotor walked over to the bar and leaned his elbows on it, drinking to steady his nerves. There it was. Fine. Over already, and now they had a place to sleep and he could get a real meal into the girl at last. He was still hard but it would go away soon enough and he could pretend this had never happened.

“What’s your name, anyway?” the innkeeper asked, coming back in with a covered tray.

“Does it matter?” Lotor asked. He was so tired, he just wanted all this to be over. If he kept selling off parts of himself, maybe soon there would be nothing left and then he wouldn’t _feel_ this way anymore.

“Guess not,” the innkeeper said. “Anyway, here. And don’t expect breakfast before noon.”

“Thanks,” Lotor said and tucked the bottle under his arm before grabbing the tray and going back to the room.

“It’s me,” he called out, tapping at the door with his foot.

The girl opened it carefully and smiled up at him. She’d showered, or at least she was wearing clean clothes now. Lotor tried to smile back but suddenly his face wasn’t working quite right and he gave up. It wasn’t like she could see it anyway. There was a small table in the corner and he set down the tray as she climbed up on a chair with excitement.

He raised the cover, wishing he’d checked what was under it before he’d brought it here, suddenly scared the innkeeper was playing some cruel joke- but it was food alright, and plenty of it. There was a huge hunk of bread with a generous amount of butter and a few large bowls filled with stew and rice and something green. The smell rose up savory and hot in his nostrils and he reared back, suddenly sick.

“You should eat,” he said carefully. “I’m just going to- I’ll be. I’ll be right back. Eat, don’t wait for me.”

He took the bottle into the bathroom with him and shut the door, breathing hard as he leaned on the sink. Something drew his eyes up and then he was staring at himself in the mirror. He didn’t recognize the man looking back. The right side of his face was bruised and swollen, there were dark shadows under his eyes. He didn’t recognize the expression on his face, in his eyes. He couldn’t take it anymore, and he couldn’t look away.

Suddenly he was balling his hands into fists and slamming his hand into the mirror. It shattered loudly and he gasped, jerking back.

“Fuck,” he muttered. “ _Fuck_.”

He was trembling as he ran his bleeding knuckles under the water spout, and then he was ripping his clothes off and getting back into the shower, sitting under the cold spray as he finished off the bottle as if it could help. Slowly he was realizing there wasn’t enough alcohol in the universe to fix what was wrong with him, but for now it wasn’t like he had any other answers.

He didn’t know how long he sat there, but he startled at the sound of a quiet knock at the door. Fuck. The girl. He’d forgotten about the girl. She’d probably heard him break the mirror, she was probably scared. He shut off the water but he was shaking too hard to stand. The knocking came again, more insistent now.

“I’m coming out,” he said, his voice raw. “Just- just. I’m coming out.”

His hand wasn’t bleeding anymore, so that was good. He sighed, burying his face in his knees for a moment, and then he forced himself up and got dressed.

The girl was waiting for him outside the door.

“It’s fine,” he said quietly. “I’m fine.”

She took his hand and drew him over to the table, to the tray. She’d carefully left exactly half of everything- for him. There were tears streaming down his face but that was fine. If he was quiet she wouldn’t know, and he was good at being quiet. Kova meowed pitifully from where he was curled up in the middle of the bed. Lotor knew he should eat but suddenly the only thing he wanted was to go to sleep and never wake up.

The girl tapped the table, pushing the tray towards him slightly.

“Ok,” he said quietly and dropped into one of the chairs. She sat across from him and leaned forward to take his wrist, and at her touch some of his heartache inexplicably eased. “Ok,” he said again, and reached for the bread.

Everything was cold now, a little greasy, but once he started eating he felt suddenly ravenous and he finished it all to his own surprise. His stomach grumbled in confusion after, unused to solid food, and then it was all he could do to make it to the bed before he passed out. The girl wrestled a blanket over him before curling up beside him, just touching his side. Kova meowed and kneaded the blankets between them before settling down, purring, and Lotor let himself fall into sleep.

 

* * *

 

He woke with a gasp sometime later, momentarily confused. He’d woken the girl and she was half-sitting, staring at him or something like it. He stumbled out of bed to look out the window- the sun was only just coming up. They still had time.

“Ok, get up,” he said quietly. He rummaged through the wardrobe for coats for them, leaving the dirty things they’d come in lying on the ground.

_Don’t expect breakfast before noon_ , the innkeeper had said, so he was probably still asleep. Good.

Lotor led the girl downstairs and had her wait while he found the cash register and broke in, taking everything inside. It wasn’t a lot, but it was more than he was used to having, and it could get them through a few days at least. He left her in the main room while he took a detour through the kitchen, gathering supplies that wouldn’t be particularly perishable.

Outside he found an old motorbike covered by a tarp. It was ancient technology, it didn’t even _hover_ , but it would be better than walking. He figured out how to start it after a few minutes, and then he gathered the girl behind him and stuffed Kova hissing down the front of his shirt to keep him safe, and they were leaving at last.

Lotor pushed them forward, not staying in any one place for long. He knew now that ultimately they had to get off-planet, outside Galra-controlled space, and turned them towards one of the main shipping hubs. They reached it at last, weeks later, funds depleted and bike out of fuel, but goddamn they reached it through pure force of will.

And now he just needed to figure out what to do next.

He sold the bike and used the money to get them a room and some dinner and then sat in the main room of the inn cradling a glass of beer and staring at all the money they had left laid out on the table. Fifty five GAC- it was nothing, less than nothing. The beer alone had been three hundred. And passage off-world was expensive, more expensive than he’d thought. What the hell was he going to do now?

The girl was sitting next to him with her hand over his. She did that a lot now. She smiled more now too, and two days ago she’d hugged him and- he had to take care of her. He had to.

“Money problems?” someone asked and Lotor looked up at a young Galra man, a little too well dressed for this sort of place. A rich kid slumming it, probably for drugs or sex or maybe the kinds of experiences that weren’t available on the central planets, like the freakshow Lotor had stolen the girl out of. He hated the guy already.

“What’s it to you?” he asked.

The man shrugged. “Figured I could help.”

“Is that so?” Lotor leaned back in his chair, putting his game face on, arranging his features into something like a confident smirk.

“You probably don’t remember me,” the guy said. “We were in the Academy together, back when you were somebody. I’ve always wanted to fuck the prince though, and here you are. Must be my lucky day.”

“Must be,” Lotor said slowly. Obviously he didn’t remember the guy, but it didn’t matter. He already knew he was going to agree. “A hundred thousand GAC and all your dreams can come true,” he said, forcing his voice to come out smooth and low.

“Damn!” the guy said with a laugh. “You sure think highly of yourself, even now, after you’ve been rolled through shit.”

Lotor kept the smile on his face but he was sure it looked more like a grimace now. “If you wanted to fuck a prince, well,” he gestured pointedly around the inn, “I’m the only one around. Besides, you look like you can afford it.”

The Galra laughed and ran his hand through his hair, looking back at a table behind him where three other Galra were sitting, staring at them. Oh fuck, was this some kind of joke? But the Galra turned back with a shrug.

“Alright,” he said. “Whatever you want, Prince Lotor. I’ve got some buddies, though. They want to fuck you too.”

Lotor looked back consideringly at the table with the others, trying to get a measure of them. He could already tell it was going to be bad, it always was with people who knew who he was. They’d be rough and cruel, they would make it hurt. The four of them would goad each other on, doing things they wouldn’t have otherwise, alone. Normally he’d never agree to this, but they were so close now.

It would be enough money to get them far away from here. They could find a quiet place where no one had ever heard of him and he could get a real job maybe, without the black mark of exile on him. He closed his eyes, imagining- a flower shop, somewhere. Being surrounded by beautiful things all day and sleeping in a warm bed at night, not being hungry, not hurting anymore.

“They each pay a hundred thousand too,” he said. It would hurt, it would gut him- but it would be one night and then it would be over. “No weird shit, either. That costs extra.”

The guy grinned and Lotor had to hold back a shudder. “We’ll pay double, then,” he said.

Lotor’s heart was thudding hard in his chest and suddenly he was afraid. But he had to do it. It was so much money, it was only one night. He’d had worse, hadn’t he? He swallowed nervously, and just as he was about to agree he heard-

_No._

The word was inside his mind, but it wasn’t his voice. What the-

The girl tightened her hand over his. He’d forgotten about her, sitting next to him, hearing all this. Suddenly shame flooded through him. What the hell was he _doing_? He should have taken the guy aside, he shouldn’t have done this in front of her. She didn’t need to know about this, about how fucked up he was.

_No_.

He heard it again, and his eyes widened as he realized it was _her_.

She reached out and took the Galra’s wrist and his body suddenly stiffened, eyes widening. He reached into his pocket mechanically and pulled out his wallet, dropping it on the table in front of Lotor’s stunned face before he walked away without another word.

The girl was staring at Lotor, or not- staring, exactly. But he felt watched all the same. What had she done? She picked up the wallet and handed it to him, and for lack of anything else to do Lotor opened it and looked inside.

Fuck. The guy was _loaded_. He should have asked for three times what he’d asked, but-

Lotor exhaled a shaky sigh of relief. But he didn’t have to do that now, not here, with them. He wouldn’t have to do it for a while. Months, maybe.

_Never._

He looked up. “Are you reading my mind?” he asked, horrified.

She tilted her head to the side and didn’t answer.

He jerked his hand out of her grasp. Oh god. Had she- had she _known_ what he was thinking this whole time? Every time she touched him? He was going to be sick. She reached for him and he was frozen as she gently took his hand again. He felt a wave of calm pass through him and a feeling of something like acceptance, something warm and fond. He dropped his face into his other hand, trying to catch his breath.

_Narti._

He looked over at her. “That’s your name?” he asked.

She nodded.

_Narti._

“Ok,” he said slowly. “Ok. Narti. Let’s get the fuck out of here, yeah?”

 

* * *

 

 

 


	2. Part II: The Champion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my amazing beta [Lutz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lutz/pseuds/lutz)!

 

* * *

 

 

Lotor hummed a little as he turned the page of his book. The weather was beautiful as usual, he was glad he’d let Narti convince him to come out here for his day off. He loved it here, sitting in the shade of the trees on the ridge overlooking the city, glittering like silver and emeralds in the sunshine.

He looked up from the book to take in the view and frowned, watching an odd shadow appear, and then another and another. Dread filled his gut like lead and he looked up, already knowing what he was about to see.

Galra cruisers, dozens of them, glowing red hot and throwing up smoke as they entered the atmosphere like hellfire. He’d know that fleet anywhere- _Ranveig_.

He jerked to his feet and ran, faster than he’d ever run before, practically flying home, cursing himself as he went. He’d gotten too comfortable, too soft, he’d stopped monitoring Galra transmissions like he should have been doing all along. He thought he’d escaped the war this far out of the Galra command system but here it was right on his doorstep.

If Ranveig was here it meant the Empire was expanding faster than before, impossibly fast. But that problem was far away, Lotor had more immediate concerns now. He needed to get to Narti before it was too late.

By the time he reached the outskirts of the city everything was on fire, the streets full of smoke and Galra soldiers. He shot past them, ignoring their shouts, not even bothering to duck as they fired at him. There was screaming in the distance but he had to get to Narti, he didn’t have time to help anyone else.

He burst through the door of the shop to see two Galra soldiers and half a dozen sentries filling the small space. Narti and Missus Bhesel, their landlady, were cowering in a corner with Kova standing protectively in front of them, hissing. The shop was a mess, the ground strewn with broken crockery and dirt and trampled flowers, their petals bruised and graying.

“Stand down, soldiers!” Lotor ordered sharply and they flinched at his tone, fighting the instinct to obey. The sentries must have recognized his voice because they lowered their weapons, hardwired to follow orders from any member of the royal family, exiled or not.

“Prince Lotor?” one of the soldiers asked and Lotor looked at him. He seemed familiar. Lotor didn’t remember his name but he was sure now the Galra had been in his unit, before. He’d been injured on a mission and Lotor had dragged him through the mud for hours to get him medical attention. Maybe he remembered, maybe he’d help them.

“What the hell are you doing?” the other soldier hissed to his companion.

“I- it’s Prince Lotor,” the man said uncertainly.

“Please,” Lotor said. “Just- go. That’s all I’m asking. Just leave us and go.”

The first soldier, the one who knew him, lowered his weapon slowly.

“We have our orders,” the second one said. “No prisoners, and no survivors.”

“No. Come on, let’s just go to the next house-”

“Traitor!” the second soldier said and Lotor flinched as the Galra shot his companion in the head.

“Sentries-” Lotor said and they raised their weapons to point at the remaining Galra. “You’re outnumbered, soldier,” Lotor said quietly. “This is your last chance to leave with your life.”

“Victory or death!” he said and pointed his blaster at Lotor. The sentries opened fire and it was over.

“Narti?” Lotor asked. “Are you alright?”

She nodded and Kova jumped up into her arms, purring.

“Missus Bhesel-” Lotor started, turning to her.

“Lotor- what’s happening?” she gasped out.

“The Galra have come to take the planet,” he said. “You need to leave, now. Before it’s too late.”

“Leave?” she asked, wide-eyed. “I can’t leave- this is my home!”

He walked closer and took her by the shoulders, bending down a little so they were eye to eye. “Listen to me,” he said softly, “You won’t have a home soon. Ranveig will kill everyone and everything in the city, and then he will burn it to the ground before moving on to the next and doing it all again. Your home will be gone, your entire planet will be gone. You need to get off-world if you’re to have any chance of surviving this.”

“Lotor-”

“You need to take my shuttle and _go_ \- now!”

“Please, I can’t-”

“Fuck,” Lotor cursed and backed up, glancing around. “You-” he said, pointing at the closest sentry. “Begin re-imprinting procedures.”

“ _Negative. Imprint I.D. - Prince Lotor._ ”

“Imperial override!” Lotor exclaimed before rattling off his access code.

“ _Confirmed. Starting re-imprinting procedures._ ” The glow of the sentry’s faceplate turned white and Lotor took Missus Bhesel’s arm to pull her closer.

“Say your name,” he said, trying to sound calm and reassuring.

She did as she was told, stuttering, and once she was finished the sentry beeped and its face returned to its standard red glow.

“Imprint lock,” Lotor ordered.

“ _Confirmed. Permanent imprint I.D. - Bhesel Phawn._ ”

“Good. He’s yours now, Missus Bhesel. He’ll protect you. Go to Olkarion- last I heard they were still free, you should be safe there.”

“Lotor, Narti- what about you?” Missus Bhesel sobbed out.

“We’ll be fine,” Lotor said firmly. “Go now.”

She was weeping too hard to move and Lotor turned to the sentry instead. “Sentry- keep your mistress safe. Take her to Olkarion. The shuttle’s out back,” he said, pointing.

The sentry inclined his head and took her by the upper arm, leading her away.

“Narti, go get our things, quickly.”

She nodded and ran off upstairs, leaving him alone in the destroyed room. His ears were ringing as he took in his surroundings. The smell of smoke was overwhelming in the air and he felt a familiar emptiness rising within him. He’d really thought this could be his life but he’d been a fool. He’d forgotten who he was, and now it was time to remember.

He took a deep breath and walked over to the fallen soldiers, kneeling next to the one that had tried to help him. Brodak, he remembered now. His name was Brodak. He pulled off the Galra’s helmet so he could shut his eyes. Brodak had a longsword on his belt and Lotor took it before standing, hefting it in his hand to test its balance.

Narti was back, holding two packs and his coat. He slid it on and pulled one of the packs over his shoulder, careful to leave his sword arm unimpeded.

“Stay close,” he told her before turning away and setting his jaw. He prepared for the worst before opening the door and walking out of the shop. The streets were spattered with blood, most of the buildings already on fire. There was screaming coming from every direction now. Narti followed, clearly afraid but trusting him all the same, while the five sentries flanked them, scanning their surroundings for any threats.

“Take us to your transport,” Lotor ordered the closest one and it nodded, taking point.

As they passed other sentries harrying the townsfolk Lotor ordered them to his side until he was marching at the head of a column of over two dozen droids, their rhythmic clanking footsteps loud and familiar behind him.

They made it to the transport, docked in the rubble of what used to be a theatre, and Lotor and his sentries slaughtered the Galra soldiers left guarding it before taking the ship for themselves. The imperial override code worked to unlock the main console and soon they were flying low over the burning city and then the forest, until they were far enough away from the main part of Ranveig’s forces to leave the atmosphere undetected.

Lotor shuddered a little as they left the planet behind. Narti reached out to take his hand and he forced himself to smile, squeezing her hand reassuringly before letting go. He needed to be alone with his thoughts a while as his world shattered around him.

He’d thought eventually his father would be satisfied but he saw now that would never happen. Zarkon would keep going forever, he’d swallow the whole universe if no one stood in his way.

Lotor tightened his hands over the controls until his knuckles were white. This had never been what he’d wanted. He’d wanted his father’s approval, everyone’s approval, to be seen as more than a weakling half-breed and instead as someone who belonged. He’d thought if he was good enough, strong enough, he could show them all he was worth something and he’d thrown himself into his studies, his training, his military service. But power was never what he’d really wanted, he didn’t want to rule the empire, he didn’t even really want to fight. But there was no one else. It had to be him.

Slowly he took stock of what he had: himself, Narti, Kova, the contents of their packs and their pockets, twenty eight sentries, and one transport ship. Enough, for now. But he’d need more- more soldiers, more money, more power- more of everything.

Kova hissed and Lotor looked at him- _really_ looked at him. Suddenly he understood what it was he needed most of all, the answer to the power behind the Galra Empire.

Quintessence.

 

* * *

 

The ship was a thing of beauty, more magnificent than he could have ever imagined. It was nowhere near the size of a full Galra cruiser of course, he couldn’t afford something like that, not yet. But it was big enough to contain certain comforts Lotor had found himself missing. There was a medbay and a mess hall, luxurious living quarters, even an entertainment deck and a hydroponics bay. The hangar was large enough to dock four fighter ships, though those were still in production for him elsewhere, and they’d still need to install the weapons that were coming in from a third supplier. But all in all- this was a significant upgrade. He looked back at Narti and grinned. The two sentries behind her stayed stoic, as usual.

“It’s built to your exacting specifications, Master Lethian,” the Unilu said in a solicitous tone. His four attendants smiled and nodded. “The main power core is built to run on the energy sample you’ve provided us, and we’ve installed a Balmeran crystal as a backup power supply. The water recycling system is top of the line, of course, and the replicator system is the Severo XVI- only the best for you!”

“Excellent work,” Lotor said slowly. “I see this will be the crown jewel of my merchant fleet.”

“Yes, Master Lethian,” the Unilu nodded. “All that remains is the paperwork and the final deposit, and then this beauty is all yours. I trust you’ve registered it with the Merchant’s Guild?”

“Of course,” Lotor said, pulling out the counterfeit papers. The Unilu took them and handed them off to an assistant without even glancing at them, they all knew it was just a formality.

“Now, for the final payment,” the Unilu said, and the way he looked at him made Lotor suddenly nervous. “We’ll release the ship to you once you’ve paid two billion GAC.”

Lotor stiffened. “That’s double what we’ve agreed,” he said. Between the mining, the trading, the raiding, and of course- the extortion- Lotor had managed to build up quite the personal fortune over the past few decades. But this ship was taking a chunk out of it as it was, he couldn’t afford to pay double on top of it all.

“Well,” the Unilu said with a leer, “I find our circumstances have changed, Master Lethian. Or shall I say- Prince Lotor?”

Lotor drew his hands into fists at his sides. He towered over the man but the Unilu didn’t seem particularly concerned.

“I’ll admit I didn’t recognize you at first, but then I saw this. This is you, is it not?” he asked, holding up a datapad showing a picture of- Lotor’s blood ran cold and suddenly he felt small and afraid, thrown back into a past he wanted no part of. It was him, bruised and hungover and despairing, and that fucking _guard_ , the one who’d forced him to smile, for his _sister._ The picture had ended up in the tabloids, as he should have known it would, and now it was haunting him still, even after all the time that had passed.

When he began his rise he’d thought it would be better, safer, to hide his identity, his name. He didn’t want to draw anyone’s attention, his father’s least of all. But now he was angry, impossibly furious, so hot with it that he worried his clothes may catch on fire. How _dare_ this whelp threaten him, blackmail him, remind him about this- his lowest moment? Suddenly he wanted them all to know his name, to know who he was and what he was capable of. He’d show them who they were dealing with and make them regret even _thinking_ about screwing him over, much less trying it.

His hand shot out to take the Unilu by the throat, lifting him up until he was struggling up on his toes, sputtering and staring at him wide-eyed. His assistants raised blasters to point at him but he couldn’t care less, just shot them a hot glance and snarled- “If you don’t put those down I’ll crush him.” He would _never_ allow anyone to make him feel small again.

“Please!” the Unilu gasped and Lotor turned his sharp gaze back to him. “Do as he says!” he ordered desperately, clutching at Lotor’s forearm. “Please!” he managed, looking past Lotor now, staring pleadingly at Narti.

Lotor grinned, squeezing tighter. “You think she’ll help you?” he asked. “I can assure you- she hates people that try to fuck me over even more than I do.”

The Unilu whimpered and Lotor shoved him back, releasing his grip to let the man crumple to the ground, struggling to catch his breath. Lotor didn’t give him any respite, striding over to press his boot to the Unilu’s throat.

“I could kill you for this insult,” he said quietly, his voice low and dangerous.

“Please! Prince Lotor!” the man gasped, grabbing at his foot with all four of his hands to try and shift it off his neck. But he was weak and Lotor was strong and he pressed down a little in warning.

“I’m going to pay your fee- as we agreed. And you’ll give me my ship- _as we agreed_. And you’ll let it be known that Prince Lotor of the Galra Empire _keeps_ his bargains. Is that understood?”

“Please!” the man gasped, frantic.

“ _Say it_ ,” Lotor hissed. It was a struggle not to press harder, not to just- _crush_ the life out of him.

“Yes!” he yelled. “Yes!”

“Very good,” Lotor said coldly and finally moved back, off him. Narti stepped closer and took his hand, pressing a wave of calm through him. But what she said to him was-

_Good._

“Apologies,” the Unilu gasped, wide-eyed as he realized how close he’d come to death. “You have my sincerest apologies, Prince Lotor.”

“Thank you. I think we can put all this unpleasantness behind us,” Lotor said with a tight smile, “and just- finish up the paperwork.”

“Yes- as you say,” the Unilu gasped, crawling away.

The rest was tense formalities and then Lotor had his beautiful new ship and they were leaving. He felt a little giddy and Narti seemed to be feeling the same as she held his hand tightly.

_Fun._

Lotor laughed a little. “Yes,” he said. “We should have some fun, shouldn’t we? We’ve accomplished much this day, and all the days before.”

She smiled and dragged him away somewhere into the city and he let her. He probably shouldn’t feel this good about threatening to kill a man, but he felt like his demons had come for him and he’d destroyed them rather than letting them take him. It felt- good. He felt strong and sure at last.

There was a fair in town and they went, and ate, and drank. They watched the acrobats, and the musicians, and the jugglers. It was all so impossibly good, and then they were in the planet’s modest arena, watching gladiator matches that ended in first blood rather than death like in the Galra central system, eating sweets out of a greasy paper bag and smiling at each other while the sentries looked on, making sure they were safe from harm.

The arena broke out in chants of _Champion! Champion! Champion!_ as a huge man walked out shirtless, hefting a giant axe. A small woman went to meet him, wearing an armored chest plate and a chainmail skirt and knee-high boots and little else, holding two daggers.

“That hardly seems fair,” Lotor muttered. “To send out such a tiny thing against their Champion.”

Narti grinned and shook her head.

_No._

She pointed at the woman with the daggers.

_Champion._

“You think so?” Lotor asked. “ _Her_?”

But then the fight started and he had no doubt. The woman was _breathtaking_. She was impossibly quick, darting around the huge man to avoid his swings. She forced him to come after her, conserving her energy while he used his up trying to get at her. She toyed with him for a while, putting on a show for the screaming crowd, and when she grew tired of the match she sprung into action at last. Within seconds of starting to attack in earnest she had him disarmed on his back with a knee on his chest, holding a dagger to his neck.

The arena broke out in enthusiastic cheering as everyone, Lotor included, rose to their feet to clap and yell.

He laughed, staring at Narti. “She’s- she’s amazing!” he said.

_Go._

“You want me to- go talk to her?” he asked.

_Join Us._

Lotor laughed, running his hands through his hair. He’d not really considered it, the idea of anyone else joining their close twosome. But it was undeniable- he needed more than sentries. He needed people with him sympathetic to his cause. Why not this woman? Why not?

“Alright,” he said with a grin. “I’ll go.”

_Drunk._

Lotor laughed again. “Yes, you’re right,” he said. “I am drunk. I’ll go talk to her tomorrow.”

Narti smiled and Lotor couldn’t help smiling back. Everything was changing.

 

* * *

 

“Hello,” Lotor said calmly as the Champion from the arena was shoved through the door of the small sitting room by a pair of guards.

She stumbled a little and then caught herself, scowling. She was wearing a prisoner jumpsuit and a ratty shirt rather than the chainmail skirt from before and he found himself a little disappointed. Her hair was short and greasy, and it looked like she had _horns_. Interesting. She was clearly half-Galra but he had no idea what the other half could be. She was like him, like Narti, and Lotor was delighted.

“What do you want?” she spit out.

“To offer you some dinner?” he asked, gesturing to the handsome spread laid out over the table.

She scowled but nevertheless moved to sit across from him, grabbing a plate and piling it high with her hands, ripping into the food viciously and without care for ceremony. Lotor found himself impossibly charmed and he smiled.

“I know all about men like you,” she mumbled around a mouthful of half-chewed meat, glaring at him. “You think just because you’re _pretty_ I won’t bite your dick off. But you’re wrong. I’ll catch a beating, you might think. I will, but I don’t give a damn. I’ll heal in time, but you’ll be the one that has to live out his life without a cock.”

Lotor was taken aback a little and found his eyes widening in surprise. The implication was horrific in more ways than one, but the way she’d said it made him burst out into laughter all the same.

“Trust me,” he said, still smiling, “I don’t intend to put either of us in that position.” Narti was a genius, this was going to be _amazing_.

The Champion frowned and resumed eating with vigor.

“What’s your name?” Lotor asked.

“It’s- go fuck yourself,” she bit out. “I don’t give out my name to the random losers who demand to see me.”

“Very well,” he smiled. “My name is Lotor.”

“I couldn’t give two fucks about your name,” she said, reaching for more food. Her hands were greasy with sauce and she licked her palm before grabbing the wine glass and chugging the whole thing, then slammed it loudly back to the table. Lotor leaned over to refill it under her watchful gaze.

“How did you end up here?” he asked.

She paused for a moment, then grinned. Her teeth were sharp and there were bits of food trapped between them, but he found himself smiling at her. She was amazing, he could tell already he wanted her with him for as long as she’d have him.

“I got into a bar fight,” she said, “with some fuck that got handsy. He ended up dying later, and it turned out he was a Galra Commander. I was given the choice between execution and a lifetime in the arena, so here I am, _my lord_.” She said the last in a mocking tone, bowing her head a little with her greasy hands spread wide.

“Good,” Lotor grinned. “I’m sure he deserved every bit of it.”

She seemed a little taken aback by that. “If you’re not here to try and fuck me, what the hell do you want?”

“To offer you a job,” he said.

She laughed, spraying spit and food chunks everywhere. Lotor flinched and then grinned- she was _perfect_.

“A _job_? Doing _what_?”

He shrugged. “Whatever you’d like. I’m-” he paused, trying to find the words to describe what the hell he was, what he was even doing. “I’m an up and coming… merchant, let’s say. I have any number of open positions that need filling.”

“A _merchant_? Like hell,” she laughed again, a little less violently this time. “I won’t be _filling_ anything of yours. Thanks but no thanks, _Lotor_. Dinner was great, but I’ll stay out of whatever the fuck you’re involved in. I’ll live longer that way, I think.”

“Think on it,” he said with a smile before standing. “Enjoy the rest of your dinner. I’ll be back soon for your final answer.”

“My final answer is _no_ ,” she said, glaring even as she stuffed her face.

“As you say,” he said, inclining his head. “I’ll be back regardless. Think on it.”

She sucked the meat off a small bone and threw it at his head. “Fuck off!”

He ducked, laughing, and left her to it.

He was brimming with joy as he walked through the dark streets back to his new ship. He should have been paying more attention. He didn’t react fast enough when the footsteps of his sentries abruptly fell silent and hands reached for him out of the shadows.

 

* * *

 

Lotor woke to pain and darkness. His face was wet and based on the smell he was lying in a pool of his own blood. He tried to sit up but his hands were tied behind his back and he couldn’t get the leverage. Fuck.

The lights suddenly turned on and he winced, shutting his eyes against the brightness. Three men walked in and Lotor found himself staring at their boots as they surrounded him. _Fuck_.

They yanked him up by the arms and he screamed at the sudden wrenching pain- one of his shoulders was dislocated. They dumped him in a rickety chair and left him trying to catch his breath, shuddering.

“Prince Lotor,” one of the men said and Lotor looked up. All three of them were wearing masks marked by glowing purple marks, as was their armor. He could sense in his gut they were Galra, but something here was off. They weren’t imperial soldiers, that much he knew for sure. Should he lie and pretend to be someone else? Somehow he didn’t think that would work out too well for him.

“Yeah,” he said. “And who the fuck are you?”

“We are the Blade of Marmora,” said the man in the center.

“Is that supposed to mean something to me?” he asked.

One of them stepped forward to punch him in the face and Lotor gasped with the pain. Blood dripped into his eye and he squinted. One of his teeth was loose.

“You have something of ours.”

Lotor spit blood at the man’s chest and was rewarded with another hit to the face. Fuck. He worked his jaw slowly, checking that everything was still attached and functioning as it should be. He wasn’t going to whimper, wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction, but it was a close thing for sure.

“Do I?” he asked around the pain.

“Yes. You’ve stolen it and we want it back.”

“I’ve stolen a lot of things from a lot of people,” Lotor said, grinning. “So you’re going to have to be a little more specific.”

“The quintessence shipment you waylaid in Taujeer. We want it back.”

“Sorry, that must have been someone else.”

“I don’t think so,” the leader said and turned to the man beside him, the one that had been punching Lotor. He punched Lotor again and something cracked and broke. His nose. Lotor groaned helplessly.

“Fuck,” he wheezed, his breath coming labored. His nose was making a whistling sound and he found himself laughing a little hysterically, each gasp bringing a fresh wave of agony. He was so fucked. Narti might be looking for him by now, depending on how long he’d been gone, but how would she find him? These fucks seemed serious, the room they had him in had no windows, maybe it was underground.

“We want it back. Tell us where it is.”

Even if he didn’t need that quintessence to power his new ship he wouldn’t have told them where it was. As soon as he gave them what they wanted they’d kill him. He had to stall, he had to give Narti time to find him.

“What do I get if I do?” he asked slowly.

“A quick and painless death,” the leader said.

“Is this your first interrogation or are you just a fucking moron?” Lotor asked, erring on the side of asshole if only to make himself feel better. If they killed him, he’d damn well make them feel like shit first. The one that had been hitting him stepped forward threateningly but his leader put a hand on his arm.

“Let me explain to you how these things are supposed to go,” Lotor continued, pausing to spit out the blood that was filling his mouth. “You’re supposed to offer me something nice for when I give up what you’re looking for. I’m partial to flowers, but chocolates are good too. Not dying, maybe. I’m a big fan of not dying.”

“We can make you talk,” the leader said.

“Maybe,” Lotor said. “I guess we’ll find out together.”

“You’ll talk,” the leader said, low and threatening. “Kolivan.”

“Yes, sir?” the man who’d been hitting him said.

“Take care of this. Do what you must.”

“Yes, sir.”

The leader nodded and he and the third man left the room, leaving Lotor alone with the one that must have been Kolivan. The man cracked his knuckles threateningly while Lotor watched.

“I won’t be able to tell you anything if you break my face,” he said.

“I know,” Kolivan said. He walked slowly around the chair and stopped close behind him. Now that Lotor knew his captor couldn’t see his expression he shut his eyes, fighting to keep his breathing even. “I have something else in mind,” Kolivan said before kicking the chair over, dumping him to the ground.

With his hands tied behind his back Lotor couldn’t catch himself and he screamed as he landed on his dislocated shoulder. Kolivan walked closer, kneeling over him and gripping him tightly by the back of the neck, his claws digging into Lotor’s skin even through his gloves. Oh fuck. Lotor screwed his eyes shut and tried not to shake with fear. Fuck. It was fine, it was going to be fine. Narti would find him. Narti would-

“Are you sure you don’t want to tell me where that quintessence is?” Kolivan asked slowly. “This is your last chance before we move on to something I think you’ll find very unpleasant.”

Lotor needed to stall, needed to lie, say anything, _anything_ to get Kolivan to just- wait. To stop. Until Narti could find him. But all he could think about was the hand on his neck and his fear and everything bad that had ever happened to him, hitting him all at once.

He gasped in a breath, trying to calm down but it was no good. There was only panic.

There was a faint sound outside the room and Kolivan paused, his grip loosening a little as he looked up. The door burst open and Lotor heard a familiar yowling and then Narti was there and Kolivan’s weight was off him. Lotor gasped and closed his eyes in relief.

“Thank god,” he managed as Narti untied him, her hands shaking. She was too panicked to properly control her telepathy and Lotor was getting raw flashes of anger and fear from her, could feel her picking up old painful memories from him. “Narti, please-” he gasped. Her distress was feeding into his own, and that was feeding into her in turn until they were trapped in a downward spiral that was going to make him pass out. “ _Narti_!”

She jerked back from him and suddenly he was alone in his mind. She shook her head, trying to clear it, and when she touched him again to help him sit up she was back in control.

_Fool._

“I know,” Lotor gasped, “I know.” She popped his shoulder back in a little viciously and he gritted his teeth.

_Idiot._

“I know.”

She reached for his face and reset his broken nose.

_Ass._

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Lotor gasped as he reached for her. They embraced tightly for a moment before pulling back from each other. “Is he dead?” he asked, looking over to Kolivan laying still and silent on the ground.

_Will Be._

“Leave him,” Lotor said. “Let’s go, there might be more of them coming.”

She nodded and they were running, following Kova down a dark passageway. They _had_ been underground, he realized. But she’d found him anyway. She’d found him.

They emerged into the street from the back door of what seemed to be a butcher shop. The ship was hovering above them, the hangar open and guarded by sentries. Lotor and Narti activated their calf thrusters in unison to hurtle upwards.

Once they were inside, the hangar door started to close and Narti turned to go to the cockpit.

_Leaving._

“Hold on,” Lotor said. “We have to go back to the arena. I have to speak to the Champion.”

_Leaving!_

“No! Narti-” Lotor paused, taking her by the shoulders and pushing his thoughts at her so she’d understand. “I told her I’d be back. I _told_ her.”

Narti scowled and shook her head.

_Fine!_

“I’ll be quick, I promise,” Lotor said with a smile.

_Fool._

“Yes, I know.”

Narti stayed with the ship, leaving it hovering above the arena while he went below with half a dozen sentries to guard him, moving as quickly as he could. He was feeling a little lightheaded now from the blood loss but he was fine, he could do this. He’d be quick, just like he’d promised.

The sentries ripped the gates off their hinges and they were heading inside, down to the cells where the gladiators were housed. He practically ran right into the owner, rushing out to see what the commotion was.

“Prince Lotor?” he demanded. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Sorry, no time to chat,” Lotor said, punching him in the face to knock him out and grabbing the keys off his belt. It was dark in the cells and he still had blood dripping into his eyes but he wiped it away with the back of his hand as he looked around, squinting.

“Champion?” he asked.

He saw a pair of arms reach out to rest on the bars of a cell. “When you said soon you meant real soon, huh?” came her familiar voice. “I figured you’d wait until morning, at least.”

“Something came up,” Lotor said as he walked over to her. “I find I need to make a hasty exit.”

“Hell- what happened to you?” she asked as she saw his face, her eyes wide in the darkness.

“I made some new friends,” he said with a wince.

“You realize that makes me want to join you even less, right?”

“I know,” he said. “Your final answer is no, I understand. But I said I’d be back, so I’m back. I wanted to give you these,” he said, handing her the keys. “So you can take your destiny into your own hands.”

She took the keys slowly, suddenly unsure.

“You’re remarkable,” Lotor said. “Maybe we’ll meet again someday. Goodbye, Champion.”

He turned to go.

“Acxa!” she yelled after him.

“What?” he asked, turning back to look at her. She was struggling with the lock of her cell, trying all the keys frantically.

“My name is Acxa. Hold on, I’m coming with you.”

Lotor was swaying a little on his feet now, unsure that she’d really said what he’d heard. But she had the door to her cell open and she was striding towards him.

“I thought your final answer was no?” he asked.

“What am I, a fucking moron? If some crazy bastard comes to bust me out I’m not going to just say no thanks. Besides, you’re kind of cute with your face smashed up.”

Lotor laughed in delight as she stepped beside him, ducking under his arm to steady him.

“Let’s go,” she said.

Time seemed to blur as they rushed back to the ship, and then they were inside and the hangar door was closing behind them. The lights dimmed with a soft whirr and the ship shook as it gained altitude before stilling once they left the atmosphere.

“You’re not going to pass out on me, are you?” Acxa asked.

“I’m fine,” Lotor said. “I’ve had worse.” He made his way to the cockpit, leaning a little on the walls as he went, trying not to get them too dirty with blood. She followed, looking around uncertainly.

“This isn’t a Galra ship. And it’s no merchant vessel, either.”

“I know.”

“Who the hell are you, really?”

“Prince Lotor of the Galra Empire. Exiled, technically. For now.”

“Ugh, this was a huge mistake, wasn’t it,” Acxa muttered. “Prince or not, if you try anything with me I’ll bash your skull in.”

“Noted,” Lotor said, and then they were in the cockpit. Except it was too big to be called that now, it was the bridge. He had a bridge. There were three stations- navigation, weapons, the sensor array- and a captain’s chair in the middle. He sat, a little giddy through the pain.

“Who’s she?” Acxa asked, looking at Narti in the pilot’s seat.

“Narti,” Lotor said. He’d grown used to introducing her as his sister, but that was from a different time. They were past that now and moving towards something new. “My general,” he said instead.

“Narti, meet Acxa,” Lotor introduced them. “She’ll be joining us, for now. For as long as she’d like.”

“Shouldn’t you go to the medbay or something?” Acxa asked. “You’re bleeding all over the place.”

“Yes!” Lotor said, a little too excited. He had a _medbay_ now. He no longer had to slap bandages on his wounds and hope they healed quickly while sucking down painkillers. He had a medbay, he had access to real medical attention whenever he needed it, which admittedly was more often than what would be ideal. He practically jumped to his feet and suddenly what blood remained in his body rushed to his head and he was woozy and reeling, on the verge of passing out.

Acxa caught him, dragging his arm over her shoulders again. “Alright, you crazy asshole. I’ll take you to get stitched up but I’m not going to be your babysitter.”

“Thanks,” he said. Narti looked back at them with a smile and nodded. And just like that- two became three.

 

 


	3. Part III: The Forgotten Soldier

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my amazing beta [Lutz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lutz/pseuds/lutz)!

 

* * *

 

 

“Are you crazy?” Acxa demanded. “I’m serious- are you touched in the head? Were you dropped as a child?”

“It’s a distress signal,” Lotor said calmly, “and we’re going to answer it.”

Narti crossed her arms over her chest and scowled darkly. Kova hissed at him, that traitor. Kova used to be _his_ cat and now he was ganging up against him at every turn.

“It’s a _Blade of Marmora_ distress signal, Lotor. As far as I’m concerned they can all get fucked.”

_Trap_.

“How can it be a trap, Narti?” Lotor asked. “We’re light-years off our scheduled route after having to avoid that ion storm. No one knew we’d be here, not even us.”

“I’m with Narti,” Acxa said.

“Listen,” he said slowly. “What if it were one of you? Trapped and desperate? Wouldn’t you want someone- anyone- to stop and help?”

“No,” she said, “not if it were the Blades.”

“Alright. What if it was me, then? Lost and alone, wounded, on the verge of dying-”

“Shut _up_ ,” Acxa said, her voice shaking and eyes flashing fiercely. “Shut up, don’t fucking say that.”

Lotor raised an eyebrow pointedly. He could insist, he could order them to obey him and they would. But he wanted them to agree, wanted all three of them to be of like mind before doing this.

“Fine,” Acxa said at last. “But if this turns out to be a trap, I swear- I’m going to throttle you to death and then Narti and Kova and I will go live a peaceful life somewhere without your bullshit.”

“Agreed,” Lotor said, smiling as he turned to the main viewscreen. “Narti, take us into visual range.”

She nodded as he stood beside her, shoulders tense as they moved through the asteroid field.

“There-” he pointed at the wreckage of a fighter. “On screen.”

The view was magnified and Lotor squinted. He could just make out the pilot in the cockpit of the crashed ship through the blood-stained canopy.

“Alright. Acxa- stay with the ship. Narti, you’re with me. Quickly, now.”

They hurried out of the hangar in their space suits, using their thrusters to get closer. Lotor gasped when he saw the Blade inside the fighter- a woman. She was huge, her muscular body limp in the pilot’s seat. She wore a mask like the Blades usually did but it was flickering, malfunctioning as it struggled to hide her face, a mess of blood obscuring her features.

Lotor couldn’t tell if she was dead or alive and they couldn’t pull her out of her wrecked ship without killing her either way.

“Acxa, tractor her ship into the hold,” he ordered.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? What if it’s rigged to blow? This could still be a trap.”

His instincts were yelling at him to just _do it_ but he forced himself to slow down and pull back. She was right.

“Are you getting anything from the sensors?” he asked even as he ran his own scans.

“No.”

“Me neither. Do it.”

She engaged the tractor beam and the ship shuddered as it was pulled off the asteroid. Lotor could practically hear the metal groaning, but of course there was no sound in the vacuum of space. He watched fearfully as it looked like the cockpit may come apart, but then the fighter was caught in the tractor beam and it was being pulled away, still whole, into his ship. He and Narti followed after, flying through the forcefield that kept the bay pressurized before pulling off their helmets and drawing closer.

The cockpit was jammed shut and they had to wait for the sentries to cut it open before getting a good look at the woman inside. For a moment he was certain she was already dead, but then she took a deep shuddering breath, still unconscious.

“Alright, let’s get her out of there and into the medbay,” he ordered.

There was a spike of metal piercing her thigh and cuts all over her body from the crumpled mess of her cockpit. It was a miracle she was still alive, but it was undeniable- she was alive and he was going to help her.

He watched as the sentries carefully extricated her from the wreckage and loaded her onto a gurney before wheeling her away.

“Narti, see if we can get anything from the ship’s systems, figure out what happened.”

She nodded and turned to the main console, already looking to see where the main computer core was so she could try and pull the data.

He followed the woman, overseeing the sentries that loaded her into a healing pod. And then all he could do was wait.

Two days passed before her vital systems stabilized and she was well enough to be removed from the pod. He had the sentries clean her up and dress her in fresh clothes and she didn’t wake for any of it. They hooked her up to an I.V. in the medlab and then there was only more waiting.

“What if the Blades come for her?” Acxa asked quietly as she stood next to him in the room.

“She was trapped on that rock for over three days,” Lotor said. “They had their chance. I don’t think anyone’s coming for her.” He had to shut his eyes at that, impossibly distraught.

He’d been lost, alone, abandoned. No one had come for him then, either. He’d had to pull himself out of that hole on his own. If he hadn’t had Narti with him by the end of it to _force_ him to drag himself out by his pure need to take care of her, he’d probably be dead now- his bones forgotten in some ditch with no one caring either way.

He couldn’t wish that kind of despair on anyone, not even his worst enemy. And this woman- Blade or not- was not his enemy, he knew that for sure. She didn’t deserve this, no one did.

A week passed with no change. They moved her into residential quarters and still she didn’t wake. He stationed a sentry in her room to keep an eye on her but nothing happened, and nothing happened, and nothing happened. She was wasting away despite all his efforts to keep her alive.

Finally he got a notification that something had changed and he went to her room to see her lying on the bed with her eyes open at last, staring at nothing in the distance.

“Hello,” he said cautiously.

She looked over at him, her expression blank. She seemed pale, her large ears droopy and her purple fur dull in the artificial light.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

She didn’t answer, closing her eyes.

“My name is Lotor,” he said.

She licked her dry lips. “I know who you are,” she said, her voice hoarse from disuse.

“Oh?” he asked, excited that she was speaking at all.

“Just kill me,” she said.

He sat in the chair beside her bed, trying to keep his movements slow and unthreatening.

“Why would I do that?” he asked carefully.

“I won’t tell you anything, so just kill me.”

“I haven’t asked you anything.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Nothing,” Lotor said, but that wasn’t quite true. “I want you to get better.”

“Why?” she asked. She closed her eyes but that didn’t stop the tears streaming out. She gasped once, like a sob, before she got herself under control. “Why do this? Just kill me.”

“Why would you want me to do that?” Lotor whispered, reaching out carefully to take her hand.

She jerked away from him and he didn’t try again.

“What’s your name?” he asked once more, for lack of anything else to say.

She was silent for a long time, so long he considered leaving, but then she licked her lips. “Zethrid,” she whispered.

“Hello Zethrid,” he said quietly. “I mean you no harm.”

“Why not?” she asked, looking back at him. “I’m a Blade- I- I was, at least. I know what we’ve done to you, what you’ve done to us. Why did you-” she broke off, breathing hard.

“Why did I pull you off that rock?” Lotor guessed before smiling wryly. “Why did I save your life?”

“Yes.”

“Because no one deserves to die alone, afraid and forgotten.”

She looked away, shutting her eyes. “What will you do with me now?” she asked.

“Nothing. I want to help you heal, and afterwards- you can do with yourself what you’d like.”

“You’re lying.”

“No,” he said with a smile. “I’ve been trying something new- where I don’t lie at all. It’s been going quite well for me.”

She turned away from him and he had a feeling their conversation was over.

“Rest well,” he said before leaving.

 

* * *

 

“I thought you may like to try some solid food,” he said as he walked in with a tray.

Zethrid looked up at him, frowning. It had been days but she still treated him with the same distrust as before. It hurt a little but Lotor could understand why she’d think as she did. He’d put extra effort into coming up with the most sumptuous dishes he could think of though, and he hoped this time maybe she wouldn’t be quite so dismissive.

He set the tray on the small table beside her bed then took one of the plates he’d brought and piled it high with food before taking a demonstrative bite. She watched him with narrowed eyes before sitting up and doing the same.

“You haven’t tried leaving the room,” Lotor said slowly after they’d been eating in silence for a while. “It isn’t locked.”

“Where would I go?” she asked.

“Wherever you’d like,” he said. “We have an astrometrics lab with an excellent view.”

She raised and lowered a shoulder noncommittally.

“The hydroponics bay is quite nice as well.”

“Is that where the food came from?” she asked.

“No,” Lotor smiled. “The food is from the replicator system. The hydroponics bay is- a personal hobby of mine.”

“Why?”

“Why not? We all need hobbies, do we not? Things that make us happy?”

She shrugged again.

“Come, why don’t we take a walk? You haven’t left this room in quite a while.”

“Is that an order?”

“No, of course not. It’s an offer. It can’t be good for you to be cooped up in here for so long.”

“Alright,” she said quietly.

She stood on shaking legs and he offered her his arm. He was more than a little surprised when she took it. He was sure they made an odd pair wobbling through the halls with her towering nearly a head above him. He showed her all the most interesting parts of the ship while she mostly stayed silent until they ran into Acxa.

“Everything alright?” Acxa asked, narrowing her eyes as she stared at the two of them. Zethrid was looking at her oddly and Acxa frowned a little, tensing up.

“I think so,” Lotor said slowly. “And you?”

“Fine,” Acxa said suspiciously. “Call me if you need anything,” she said before moving past them.

“Who was she?” Zethrid asked.

“Acxa, my general,” Lotor said. He hoped she’d continue but she set her mouth in a tight line and stayed silent.

They saw Narti on the bridge and she nodded slowly at them in greeting, Kova jumping out of her lap to pad closer curiously.

“ _This_ is your cat?” Zethrid asked with confusion. “It’s- small.”

Kova glared up at her. He’d always seemed to know when people were talking about him and his connection with Narti had only made him more eerily sentient.

“He’s normal sized for a cat, as far as I know,” Lotor said.

“It’s just- from the stories I’d assumed he was- I don’t know. Huge. But this- _this_ creature is the reason my commanding officer didn’t have a nose?”

Lotor laughed a little in surprise. Now that she mentioned it he knew exactly what she was talking about. Over the past few decades he’d been working hard to make inroads back into the Galra Empire and a few years back he’d finally been on the verge of a trade deal with some minor Commanders. They were too far out on the fringes, too painfully mediocre, to get any real attention from the Empire and their requisition requests were going ignored, their colonies on the verge of starvation.

He’d managed an invitation to a small cocktail party to discuss terms when the Blades had arrived to crash it, come for him or something else- he couldn’t be sure. Acxa had body checked one of them off the balcony and into the river, and when a second had managed to punch Narti in the gut Kova had launched himself off her shoulder like a screaming nightmare and taken a bite out of his face.

Lotor smiled as he watched Zethrid crouch down and reach for Kova hesitantly. He allowed himself to be stroked on the head before hissing and turning to go, climbing up Narti’s body casually until he’d draped himself over her shoulders.

“Is your whole ship populated by half-breeds?” Zethrid asked once they’d left the bridge.

“Well,” Lotor said, offended by the term but trying not to let it show. “There’s only the three of us so _populated_ may be a bit… much.”

“It’s just-” Zethrid paused uncertainly. “I’m the only one I’ve ever known,” she said, her voice almost a whisper.

“Ah,” Lotor said slowly.

“The Blades, they-” Zethrid paused, looking far away. “They didn’t want to take me at first. But I passed their trial and they had to. I thought we were- I thought of us as- as a family. But then. Then they left me behind, like trash.”

She shut her eyes, leaning against the wall. “I was with them for five years. I’d thought- they always said the mission came first but I’d though- I’d thought-” she started sobbing as her knees gave out and then she was sitting on the ground, trying to stifle the sounds she was making into her hands.

Lotor sat next to her carefully, pressing his shoulder gently against hers to try and show he was there, if she wanted him. She leaned into him and he wrapped his arm around her, letting her weep against his chest.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “That wasn’t right.”

She cried for a while, but eventually she stilled and pulled back, embarrassed as she swiped at her eyes.

“You’re right,” Lotor said with a pensive smile. “We’re all half-breeds here. We all came here differently, but we’re a family too. We’d never leave anyone behind.”

“You’re not like they said you were,” she said.

“What did they say I was like?” Lotor asked, curious.

She shrugged and laughed a little. “I don’t know. An underhanded thief? A raider and a con man? An asshole?”

Lotor laughed too. “No, that much is true for sure. But I take care of my own, and they take care of me. Maybe that’s the part the Blades left out.”

“I’m tired,” Zethrid said.

Lotor smiled. “Let’s get you back to your room so you can rest.”

“Thank you,” she said slowly as she took his hand. He helped her up and led her back, and through it all he knew he’d been right to save her. She belonged here, with them. And she’d come to realize as much on her own now too. Soon.

 

* * *

 

“I don’t like this,” Acxa said as she stared at her console.

“You don’t like anything,” Lotor said.

“I like it when you’re asleep,” Acxa muttered. “It’s the only time I can get any peace. Narti, can you make sense of these readings?”

Narti typed in a few commands on the console, throwing up the results of her scans on the main view screen.

The planet the merchants had chosen as a meeting point, Thayserix, was nothing like Lotor had expected. It was barely even a planet, just a giant mass of dense gasses. The readings were off the charts, the magnetic interference intense. If they went in there like they were meant to they’d be completely blind.

“If you try to tell me this isn’t a trap I’ll have you institutionalized,” Acxa said.

“It’s too obviously a trap to actually be a trap, don’t you think?”

“ _Lotor_ ,” Acxa said, glaring at him.

He laughed. “Just a little joke, Acxa. Activate the particle barrier and pull back." 

Alarms blared out as a dozen mismatched ships rose out of the gas planet’s atmosphere, weapons hot and already taking aim at them. They’d been laying in ambush but activating the shields had let them know their cover was blown.

“Pirates!” Acxa yelled. “Fucking- _pirates_ , Lotor! You said they were merchants!”

“Well it’s not like they have labels on their foreheads-” he said as he scrambled over to the weapons station to power up the ion cannon.

“Learn to read a red flag! Goddamn!”

She was already taking evasive action, pulling them back. More alarms blared out as the pirates opened fire and the ship shook around them.

“Should I launch the fighters?”

“Wait,” Lotor said. They only had four on the ship and they wouldn’t stand a chance against the pirates, especially piloted by sentries. He wasn’t about to throw away his fighters for nothing, and he already had a much better idea.

“Particle barrier holding- we’re receiving a transmission.”

“On screen.”

An ugly man with four eyes and a blue face marked by puckered scars popped up on the main viewport, grinning.

“Prince Lotor,” he said. “If you surrender your ship to me now, I promise we’ll maroon you and your crew somewhere not entirely uninhabited.”

“Counter-offer,” Lotor said. “If you surrender your ships to me now, I promise I’ll only take a hand off each of you instead of killing you all outright.”

The pirate laughed. “I think under different circumstances we could have been great friends, you and I!”

“Doubt it,” Lotor said and cut off the transmission. “Well, that’s some good news at least.”

“How is any of this good news?” Acxa hissed. She grabbed hold of her console to avoid falling as the ship shook under a second barrage of enemy fire.

“If they want my ship they won’t destroy it. They’ll try to board and take it over, and we’re going to let them.”

“ _What_?!”

“Narti- fake a systems malfunction. Make it look like our shields are failing. After a few minutes bring the ship to standby mode to make them think our power’s down. Don’t wait too long, else we’ll take too much damage.”

She looked up at him, frowning.

“Trust me,” he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. “Whatever you do, don’t let them take the bridge.”

“Where are you going?” Acxa said, alarmed as she watched him twist his hair up before putting on his helmet.

“To take them out. Stay on the comms, keep me updated with what’s going on and where they’re coming from.”

“Let me come with you,” Acxa said, grabbing his arm.

“I need you to stay here and keep an eye on what’s happening. Besides, if I can’t handle a few pirates they deserve to take my ship. But I’d bet on me.” He winked before leaving. 

He typed out a short command on the panel of his gauntlet as he went, sending marching orders to his sentries. When the pirates breached the hull they’d get a nasty surprise. Maybe he couldn’t take them in a space battle with one mid-size ship and four fighters but he had a compliment of sixty sentries on board and he was about to lure the raiders to their own slaughter.

He threw out a hand to catch himself on the wall as his ship suddenly started taking heavy fire- the shields were down. He shut his eyes, breathing hard and hoping he wasn’t making a huge mistake, and then the main lights began to fade, leaving only the slow flashing of the emergency lights at the edges of the corridor. The ship was enveloped in thick silence. The pirates thought they’d won so they stopped their assault, not wanting to damage their prize.

He waited, looking up as he heard a few loud clangs reverberating through the hull.

“They’re breaching,” Acxa said over the comms.

“Where?”

“Deck eight, secondary cargo hold.”

“Got it.”

Lotor paused to send updated orders to his sentries before making his way over, careful not to make a sound.

“They’re past the airlock- I count at least two dozen. They’re splitting up, the bulk of their force is headed into the main cargo hold.”

“Got it,” Lotor said quietly. The sentries were drawing closer to his position, caging in the intruders. He had too many things of value, not to mention explosive potential, in the hold to allow a firefight in there, but as soon as the pirates left they’d be trapped and facing down the full force of his droids.

“Dammit,” Acxa muttered. “They’re rooting around in our shit. These fuckers are robbing us before they jack us. Great _merchants_ you found.”

Lotor smiled but stayed silent.

“And now they’re fucking around with the Xanthorium! You have to do something before they blow us all to hell!”

“I’ll take care of it,” he said quietly. He crept to the door of the hold and pressed his palm to the access panel, sliding out of view before the door opened.

“What the hell?” he heard one of the pirates say.

“There’s no one there.”

“Go check it out!”

Judging by the sound of their footsteps there were at least six coming towards him. They didn’t know it yet but Lotor already had them outnumbered.

He slipped around a corner and smiled as he came face to face with a dozen sentries.

“There’s no one there.”

“This ship gives me the fucking creeps.”

Lotor slammed his hand against the wall and it reverberated ominously, the sound echoing through the hallway.

“What was that?”

“I don’t know, let’s go see.”

“Fuck. Alright, that way-”

As the first pirate turned the corner cautiously Lotor snatched him up by the throat and snapped his neck easily, letting his body crumple to the ground.

“What the-”

The other five moved together and reared back in shock to see Lotor and his sentries waiting for them.

“Fuck!” one of them yelled, but they were slow to react and within a second they were all dead and the sentries were dragging their bodies away.

Lotor looked around the corner. He could hear arguing from the cargo bay but he couldn’t quite make out their words from here. He hid when he saw four more pirates step out, glancing around like they were afraid.

“They’re leaving our shit alone now at least,” Acxa said.

Lotor hit his hand against the wall again, trying to lure the other four closer.

“Fuck this,” one of them said and Lotor gestured for the sentries to move in. They marched out in formation, raising their blasters to take down the pirates standing in the hallway.

There was angry yelling coming from the cargo bay now.

“They’re leaving,” Acxa said. “But there are more- the ones that broke off earlier. Two are on their way to the engine room.”

“They’ll be dead soon enough,” Lotor said, he had another ten sentries stationed between them and their destination.

“There’s one more on the residential deck-”

And that was a bit of a problem. That was where Zethrid was. He’d warned her to stay in her room and posted two sentries at her door but suddenly he was afraid it wouldn’t be enough.

“On my way,” Lotor said and ran.

He made it into the hall just in time to see the sparking wreckage of his sentries on the ground and the blue four-eyed man he’d talked to earlier dragging Zethrid stumbling out of her room at gunpoint.

“Prince Lotor!” the pirate greeted him jovially.

“Let her go,” Lotor said.

“I don’t think so. I think your hurt little general is the key to my escape. Put your hands up.”

“Lotor- _no_ ,” Zethrid hissed, wincing as the man tightened his grip over the fur at the back of her head.

Lotor slowly raised his hands. “If you hurt her I’ll make you beg for death before I’m done with you,” he said icily.

“And if I don’t?” the pirate asked. “I know about you. You keep your bargains, don’t you? Make a bargain with me, now.”

“Leave her and I won’t kill you,” Lotor said.

“That’s a good start,” the man said. “But I want a ship. Knowing my crew they’re all gone now, so I want a ship, and I want you to let me leave.”

“Alright,” Lotor said slowly. “But you have to let her go.”

“Not yet,” the man said nervously. “Ship first, and then you’ll have her.”

“Very well,” Lotor said. He glanced up at Zethrid. She seemed to be in pain, she wasn’t fully recovered yet from her shipwreck. He wanted to rip the man’s hands off her but his grip on his blaster was already shaky at best. Any wrong move and Zethrid’s brains would be spattered all over the walls.

The three of them walked tensely through the dark corridors, Lotor waving for his sentries to stand down whenever they came across them in the halls, watching them pass silently. It seemed to last forever, but finally they were in the hangar and the man was drawing closer to one of Lotor’s fighters.

“Open the door!” he yelled, even shakier now that he was so close to freedom.

“Easy,” Lotor said, moving slowly towards the console to do as he was told. “I keep my bargains,” he said soothingly. “You let her go and then I let you leave- yes? Do we have a deal?”

The man paused, his eyes darting nervously around the space.

“Yes,” he said at last and shoved Zethrid away from himself. Lotor caught her as best he could but she was huge and heavy and they fell awkwardly to the ground. They sat tangled together as they watched the pirate scramble up into the fighter and blast out of the hangar.

A moment passed, and then the ion cannon fired and the fighter exploded.

Lotor could only stare at the wreckage, shocked.

“Acxa- what the _hell_!”

The main lights powered up slowly as the hangar door began to close.

“ _Fuck_ that guy,” she said through the comms loudly enough for Zethrid to hear, sitting beside him. “He doesn’t get to come in here and threaten us and then just get away with it.” Lotor heard a satisfied meow from Kova.

“I gave him my _word_ -”

“Yeah? You said you’d let him leave, which you did, and that you wouldn’t kill him, which you didn’t. You never promised him I wouldn’t.”

“Acxa-”

But Lotor was interrupted by Zethrid bursting out into laughter. The sound was loud and resonant and beautiful as she collapsed to the ground, clutching at her gut. Lotor stared a moment, but then he found himself smiling too.

“Good work,” he said at last.

“I _like_ her!” Zethrid gasped out.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, standing and offering her his hand.

“Not more than I was before,” she said and let him help her up.

“Come meet us in the mess hall,” Acxa said. “I want a fucking drink.”

“Come,” Lotor said to Zethrid. “Join us.”

She paused uncertainly. “You want me to- come celebrate with your team? But- I didn’t _do_ anything. I got myself taken hostage and put you all at risk.”

“So?” Lotor asked, offering her his arm and leading the way up to the mess hall. “I’ve gotten myself taken hostage plenty of times, there’s no shame in it.”

She seemed a little bewildered but followed him all the same.

They walked into the mess hall to see Acxa, Narti, and Kova already waiting for them. Kova was lying purring in Narti’s lap while she gently stroked his head and Acxa had her back to the door as she poured out Galra whisky into three glasses.

“You must have been blind drunk to think those guys were _merchants_ , Lotor,” Acxa said without turning. “Next time you make a trade deal you’d better take me with you, you stupid fuck.” She turned at last and stiffened, eyes wide as she saw Zethrid beside him. “I mean- uh. Sir.”

“Speak freely, Acxa,” Lotor said. “Zethrid, would you care for a drink?”

“Alright,” she said.

Acxa passed out the glasses and took the bottle for herself, throwing herself down into a chair at the table and bringing her knee up casually. She still seemed a little unsure of herself with Zethrid around, which had the pleasant effect of strangling her endless stream of cursing.

“Tell me, Lotor,” Acxa said, swigging from the bottle. “If you met a man in a dive bar with an eyepatch and a parrot on his shoulder, what would you say? _Neat bird, wanna sell me some shit in an abandoned shipyard_?”

“Certainly not,” Lotor said, grinning. “An abandoned shipyard would be far too public. A damp basement somewhere though, that’s a little more my style.”

“Don’t even _joke_ ,” Acxa said and Zethrid laughed in delight.

“That was a clever trick with the shields though, I’ll give you that much,” Acxa said slowly. “And we _did_ make out like bandits despite your gigantic fuck up. We took eight of their ships and preliminary scans show they’ve got some… _interesting_ weaponry. Narti and I will take a look when we make it back to the airfield, but if we can integrate their systems with our own it’ll really be something.”

“Excellent.”

Narti reached over to take his hand and he saw what they were talking about, saw the ships they’d left attached to the hull where the pirates had breached. They were dragging the rest behind them, caught in their tractor beam. Her thoughts shifted fluidly and he saw Zethrid the way Narti saw her, through Kova’s eyes. She was smiling as she took a sip of whisky, a little stunned at how easily, how casually she was being included here.

_Soon._

 

* * *

 

Zethrid seemed to come out of her shell in fits and starts and before long she was _everywhere_. Training with Acxa on the training deck, making a mess in the mess hall with her disastrous attempts at baking, laughing with Narti in half-heard conversations.

“And then he said _what_?” she asked as he came upon them on the observation deck. She and Narti looked over at him as he walked in, Narti holding Zethrid’s wrist, and then they both burst out into laughter that Lotor wondered at, sure he was the butt of the joke and finding himself unbothered by it.

Zethrid guffawed, waving him away, and he left smiling.

Weeks passed, and then she was coming to him on the bridge, suddenly serious.

“I want to go through your rite of passage,” she said.

“What?” he asked uncertainly.

“Your rite of passage,” she repeated slowly, like he was hard of hearing. “So I can stay here.”

“There’s no- there’s no rite of passage,” Lotor said, smiling as he understood what she was talking about. “If you’d like to stay, you can just- _stay._ ”

Her eyes widened in surprise.

“You’re welcome to stay, if you’d like,” he said, trying to make sure he was being perfectly clear.

“Really?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said. “You can stay. For as long as it pleases you to.”

She grinned. “Alright,” she said at last. “Alright. Then- I’d like to stay.”

He held out his hand and she took it, drawing him into a tight embrace.

“I guess I’ll- I guess I’ll-”

“Stay,” he said with a smile.

“Yeah,” she breathed out.

 

 


	4. Part IV: The Pirate Queen's Daughter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my amazing beta [Lutz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lutz/pseuds/lutz)!

 

* * *

 

“What do you mean it’s _gone_?” Lotor demanded. The captain’s face was worried over the viewscreen, his whiskers twitching a little in fear, and that told Lotor everything he needed to know. He sighed, closing his eyes as he rubbed at his temples. “All of it, then? The entire shipment?”

“It was the Golden Raiders, Prince Lotor,” the captain said quietly. “They struck fast and hard, they disabled the ship before emptying the hold and they were gone before we managed to power up our main crystal again.”

“Any casualties?”

“A few, but thankfully no fatalities.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Lotor said, nodding.

“Prince Lotor, with all due respect, I don’t think we can continue working with you.”

Lotor frowned and the man hurried to continue. “Please- this is the third attack in as many weeks and I think it’s clear now the Raiders are targeting your operation. I also think it’s clear I can’t guarantee the safety of your cargo, and I can’t keep risking my ships.”

“I see.”

“Prince Lotor- you’ve been a valued client and if you ever get this situation resolved I’d be pleased to work with you again. But as it stands- I have to put the safety of my crew before anything else.”

“I understand,” Lotor said slowly.

“I bid you goodbye, hopefully only temporarily. Please contact me if anything changes.”

“I will,” Lotor said and cut off the transmission.

Shit.

“What now?” Acxa asked slowly.

He found himself suddenly unsure.

Ever since he’d started building his cruiser everything had been going wrong for him. First his main mining facility was lost as it was enveloped in the slow inexorable spread of the Galra Empire. Next there was some kind of malfunction at his smelting plant and the whole place had gone up in smoke.

He’d scrambled to find third party suppliers for the materials he needed and just as he thought things were finally back on track he found the cargo companies he contracted targeted by the Golden Raiders and over half his shipments being waylaid. He felt like an animal caught in a trap, the feeling old and familiar but something he’d really hoped he’d left behind.

Maybe he should just- _forget_ about the cruiser. Things had been fine before, his by-now familiar mid-size ship was sufficient for the four of them and his complement of sentries. Everything had been so much simpler before he’d decided to take this next step.

But they were drawing more unwanted attention now, finding themselves in more and more standoffs with pirates and Blades alike, not to mention the occasional outlying Galra Commanders who thought taking a piece of him would somehow help them get ahead.

They’d been upgrading the ship of course, but no amount of upgrades could change the fact that his hangar only had room for four fighters at a time. They’d had far too many close calls lately and now they routinely traveled within a swarm of drones. The fuel costs alone were outrageous, not to mention the logistical nightmare of shuffling ships in and out of the hangar to resupply them.

“Lotor?” Zethrid asked nervously.

Shit. He’d stayed silent too long and now they were worried. He needed to stay in control, or at least create the appearance of it. He tightened his hand into a fist over the armrest of the captain’s chair and looked up.

“Construction on my cruiser is stalled until they receive the next shipment of ore. If we can’t rely on third party shipping companies we’ll have to deliver it ourselves.”

It was a stop gap measure at best but it was the only idea he had for now.

“What if the Golden Raiders come at us directly?” Acxa asked.

“Then we’ll destroy them,” Zethrid said with a vicious grin.

Lotor smiled. That was certainly one way of handling his problem.

 

* * *

 

He’d been hoping to make the delivery without incident, but of course that wasn’t to be.

They were traveling through an asteroid field, their fleet spread out a little more widely than usual to avoid the drifting space rocks, when the ship suddenly shuddered and shook. Alarms blared out as the power wavered but ultimately held firm.

“What was that?” he demanded.

“I don’t know,” Axca said. “There’s nothing on the sensors-”

The ship shook again, an explosion rocking them and throwing them off-course. They barreled into an asteroid and it shattered into sharp debris around them.

“The main cargo hold is blown-” Acxa said and Lotor stared in horror as he watched crates of ore drifting out into space. “Closing the secondary door now.”

But it was too late, they’d lost most of their cargo by now.

“How did this happen?” Lotor asked, fighting to keep his voice steady as his hands tightened into fists.

“There are intruders on board,” Acxa bit out, eyes wide and nervous.

“I’ll take care of them,” Zethrid said, cracking her knuckles.

“No, let the sentries do their jobs. We need to stay here, we have to hold the bridge if it comes to that.”

Zethrid seemed disappointed but she obeyed his order nonetheless.

They watched the security feeds as sentries marched out to engage the intruders, dozens of them. Lotor was tense, but slowly he began to relax as he watched his sentries gain the upper hand and start pushing the invaders back.

“Where did they come from?” he asked.

There was another explosion, and that was his secondary cargo bay.

“Fuck,” he bit out. “Initiate a full lockdown, I want to catch at least one of these fuckers to find out what the hell is going on.”

“Yes, Lotor,” Acxa said, typing in a command at her console. Lotor could hear the clanging of security doors shutting reverberating throughout the ship’s hull, but then he was distracted as he watched two dozen fighters materialize out of thin air to grab his free-floating cargo in tractor beams and start towing it away.

“Cloaking technology?” Lotor whispered, shocked. The Galra had been trying to develop something similar for centuries now with no success but these raiders had managed it somehow, had equipped all their ships with it.

The enemy fighters were leaving even as his drones scrambled to engage. But they couldn’t seem to target properly and just as fast as it had started it was over, the raiders were gone.

“Fuck,” he said again. “Narti, please tell me you have some good news for me.”

She nodded and pulled up the feed from a security camera onto the main screen.

The feed showed a young woman, trapped between two security doors and facing down four of his sentries. She was small and lean, dressed in a skin-tight suit with armored plates at her elbows and knees and over the knuckles of her gloves. She was wearing goggles but otherwise her head was bare, leaving free a fifth appendage like a prehensile tail.

Lotor watched as she used it to grab one of the sentries by the neck and send it crashing into the others. They seemed painfully clumsy next to her as she slipped around them easily, too fast for them to grab her. She shoved some kind of small device into a gap between the joints of one of the sentries’ armor and the device detonated, blowing the robot’s head off.

She dispatched the other three just as easily and then stepped over to do something at the panel of the security door. She shouldn’t have been able to open it, they were in full lockdown, but then it was open anyway and she was in the next section of the hallway, ready to repeat the process all over again.

“Narti, Zethrid- with me!” Lotor said, jerking to his feet. They needed to catch her before she managed to escape. “Acxa- keep an eye on her.”

“Got it,” Acxa nodded and they were off.

The security doors were a nuisance but they responded to his override code and they made quick progress. The intruder was making progress too, getting closer and closer to escape with every moment. But she had to pause at every junction to hack open security doors and delay to destroy his sentries every time they came upon her. They were gaining on her.

“She’s in the next section,” Acxa warned as Lotor opened the door.

The woman turned away from where she’d been fiddling with the access panel in surprise, straightening to look at them.

“Heya,” she said with an easy grin, backing up a few steps.

“Surrender now and you won’t get hurt,” Lotor said.

“You’re the prince?” she asked, cocking her head to the side. “You’re cute. And you-” she looked over at Zethrid. “You’re _big_.”

Zethrid bristled a little at that, clenching her hands into fists, and then the woman was ducking and running. Lotor made a grab for her but she was already past him. Zethrid lunged and wrapped her arms around the woman’s waist with her arms pinned to her sides, lifting her off the ground easily.

Against all odds the raider woman seemed absolutely delighted. She didn’t struggle as she stared into Zethrid’s eyes, and then she leaned forward and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to Zethrid’s lips.

“Mmmf!” Zethrid mumbled, wide-eyed and blushing. Her grip on the raider loosened and the woman broke away, grinning.

“I like big,” she said with a wink and then she was running again. Lotor managed to grab her by the wrist and yank her backwards but she twisted her arm fluidly to break out of his hold and she was past. Zethrid was still too stunned by the kiss to react but thank god for Narti- she managed to press her fingers to the woman’s shoulder and the raider’s eyes widened before she went suddenly limp, falling to the ground.

“Are you alright, Zethrid?” Lotor asked.

“Fine,” she said, her voice coming out a little strangled. She was still blushing and she couldn’t take her eyes off the woman, sprawled out unconscious on the ground.

“Let’s get her into one of the empty residential rooms,” he said, wishing for the first time ever that they had a brig. A bedroom would have to be good enough. They’d have to find a way to lock it somehow, maybe get some shackles or something. Did they even _have_ shackles?

“I’ll take her,” Zethrid said, stepping closer to pick her up gently. She carried the woman bridal style through the halls and the raider was already starting to wake as they brought her into one of the empty bedrooms. She stayed perfectly docile while in Zethrid’s arms, looking up at her a little dreamily.

“My name’s Ezor,” she said with a smile. “What’s yours?”

Zethrid only blushed harder, staying silent. As soon as she set the raider down on the bed and stepped back Ezor was twisting away and running again.

“Dammit,” Lotor cursed and caught a hint of her grin as she slipped around him and slid under Narti’s reaching arm, and then she was out in the hallway. “Get her!” he yelled, running out into the hall just in time to see her turn a corner.

He heard a yelp, a zap, and a thud. When he managed to get there he saw Acxa crouched over the woman’s body, holding a taser in one hand and shackles in another.

“For fuck’s sake,” Lotor muttered as Acxa turned the unconscious woman over and shackled her hands together in front of her.

“You know that feeling you’re feeling right now?” Acxa asked, her eyes glittering as she watched him bend down and sling the woman’s body over his shoulder before carrying her back to the room.

“Unending frustration?” Lotor asked.

“Yeah,” Acxa said. “Welcome to how it feels to be me, serving you.”

“I’m not trying to keep you captive, Acxa,” Lotor said, suddenly feeling more than a little hurt.

“No, you’re the girl in this metaphor,” Acxa grinned. “Constantly running right into the face of some fresh mess of trouble while I try desperately to catch you.”

Lotor laughed, his situation suddenly not seeming quite so dark.

He brought the raider back to the room and dumped her on the bed but she was already waking, _again_. He’d really hoped he could have a moment of respite from her.

She seemed surprised at her shackled wrists and then she looked up with a grin.

“Alrighty, I guess I’m captured then,” she said.

“Yes,” Lotor said. “Don’t give me any more trouble and you won’t get hurt.”

He turned to leave. They needed to make repairs, they needed to figure out what to do next.

“Wait!” the raider said.

“What?” Lotor asked, turning back.

“Uh- aren’t you going to search me? Who knows what kinds of tricks I could have up my sleeves.”

Fuck, he was an idiot. Of course they should have searched her, but this whole taking prisoners thing was a bit of a new experience for him. He took a step closer but she shook her head.

“I want the big one to do it.”

Lotor looked over at Zethrid. She seemed nervous and flushed but she stepped forward all the same as the raider woman, Ezor, stood from the bed and raised her hands above her head with a grin.

Lotor crossed his arms over his chest and waited as he watched Zethrid nervously run her hands over Ezor’s body.

Acxa muttered something and turned to leave, Narti going with her, and then it was just Lotor alone with Ezor and Zethrid, who seemed lost in their own little world.

“You’re not being very thorough,” Ezor murmured, looking up at her with a smirk. “I’ll give you a hint- I have at least two daggers on me and a set of lockpicks. See if you can find them.”

Zethrid growled in frustration and grabbed her firmly by the upper arm, yanking her around to bend her over the dining table before searching her again, more forcefully this time. Ezor giggled and now Lotor was blushing too. What the _fuck_? Seriously?

He felt hot all over as he was filled with the distinct understanding he should _not_ be watching this, but he couldn’t very well leave Zethrid in here with her all alone, that could be exactly what she wanted.

Zethrid found a set of lockpicks in a hidden compartment in the raider’s belt and handed it off to him, and then a knife in her boot.

“One more,” Ezor teased, gasping as Zethrid ran her hands up the insides of her thighs.

“Alright!” Lotor exclaimed. “That’s enough! Just- leave her.”

“Really?” Ezor asked, disappointed as Zethrid stumbled back from her, breathing a little harder than usual.

“Let’s go,” Lotor said and dragged Zethrid out of the room.

“Fucking- hell!” he said once they were outside.

“I’m gonna- I’m gonna go- to my. Bunk,” Zethrid managed before making a hasty exit.

“Well,” Acxa said slowly. “This is going to be fun.”

Lotor had a feeling that if it was going to be fun, it would be fun for everyone except him.

 

* * *

 

“Dinner,” Lotor said as he set a tray of food down on the table in front of Ezor.

“Yum,” she said, her eyes lighting up. “If this is what you feed your prisoners, I can’t _wait_ to see what else you have in your kitchen!”

Lotor paused. “This is the same as what the rest of us ate earlier.”

“Aww, so you’re being the good cop, now?” Ezor asked, smiling as she moved her shackled hands awkwardly to bring the tray closer to her.

“I thought I’d give you the opportunity to cooperate before we move on to more extreme methods,” Lotor said, watching as she began to eat with relish. “Your people have caused me quite a bit of trouble, not to mention expense. I want my cargo back- _all_ of it.”

“That ship has _launched_ , buddy. We already sold it,” Ezor mumbled.

“I want you to stop raiding my shipments.”

She shrugged. “Sorry, I’m small fry. It’s not really up to me what the Golden Raiders do, or not do.”

“Tell me then, where does your fleet make berth? Where are your headquarters?”

She shrugged again. “Dunno. We’re always moving, no way to predict it.”

“We can make you talk,” Lotor said slowly, voice low and ominous.

She looked up then, her expression serious for once. “How? Are you going to torture me?”

“I don’t need to torture you,” Lotor said with a slow smile. “One of my generals is a telepath.”

“The mysterious silent one, huh?” Ezor asked. “I was wondering what her deal was. Her and that weird cat.”

“If you won’t talk I’ll order her to pull the information I want out of your mind. I can assure you, it will not be a pleasant experience.”

“You’d do that? You’d- _violate_ me like that?” she asked, wide-eyed. And then she smirked dismissively. “Somehow I doubt it.”

“You think she’d balk?” Lotor asked.

“No,” Ezor said, narrowing her eyes and raising her hands to point at him. “I think _you_ will.”

“Then you don’t know me very well,” Lotor said, even as he knew she was right. It would be a terrible violation and he couldn’t do that to this woman who he already found himself liking. He wasn’t sure he could do that to anyone.

“I think I know you well enough,” she said, and then she was smiling again and returning to her dinner with gusto. “You know what I’d do if I were you?”

“What?”

Her smile grew impossibly wider. “I’d send in the big one. She seems like she’s good at interrogations. You should give her a shot at me. I’d _definitely_ talk to her, you know. Cause she’s so… _scary_.” She waggled her eyebrows a bit and Lotor sighed, fighting the urge to rub his temples.

“Are you finished eating?” he asked.

“Well, I mean- dinner isn’t really over until after dessert.”

“There’s no dessert,” Lotor bit out, rising and taking the tray.

He turned to leave but she whistled at him and he paused, shoulders drawing up tensely. He looked back at her and she made some kind of indecipherable gesture with her shackled hands.

“The _big one_ ,” she said slowly.

Lotor sighed and left the room.

“How did it go?” Zethrid asked, waiting for him anxiously just outside.

“She wants you,” Lotor said, handing the tray off to a waiting drone.

“She does?” Zethrid whispered, flushing again.

“Oh my god,” Lotor groaned, dropping his face into his hands.

Narti smiled and the only respite he had was that Acxa was on the bridge instead of here to tease him, too.

“I meant- she wants you to- _interrogate_ her.” But it was obvious Ezor wanted Zethrid in any number of ways.

“Well. I should. I should go do that, then,” Zethrid said haltingly.

“Really?” Lotor asked. “You really think that’s a good idea?”

“Um,” she thought about it for a while, and then she tightened her hand into a fist and nodded. “Yes,” she said, smiling.

“ _Really_?” Lotor asked. “You’re not going to let her seduce you and escape?”

“No, definitely not,” Zethrid said.

Lotor sighed. “Fine,” he said, gesturing to the door.

Zethrid set her jaw before walking inside and Lotor pulled out his datapad to watch the security feed, Narti drawing closer and holding his hand so she could watch through his eyes.

So far so good, at least. Zethrid and Ezor were talking. They talked for a while, but then he could tell that Zethrid was getting flustered.  Ezor rose and walked closer before sitting on Zethrid’s lap and- fuck. Well now they were just kissing passionately with Ezor’s shackled arms around Zethrid’s neck while the bigger woman stroked her back and lower, her huge hands almost entirely wrapping around Ezor’s waist.

_Surprise._

Narti was laughing silently and Lotor was at a complete loss.

“Hold on, watch,” he said, resigned now as he saw that Ezor had her shackles open somehow and then she was twisting and shackling one of Zethrid’s wrists to the leg of the dining table.

“Get ready,” Lotor said, putting away the datapad. He was so _tired_. Why couldn’t things just- go like they were supposed to?

The door opened and Ezor was there, grinning at them. He’d thought he was ready for her, that they both were, but she managed to slip past them anyway and then she was gone.

“Acxa- lockdown procedures,” Lotor said, sighing.

“Ugh,” Acxa said, equally tired. The security doors slammed shut throughout the ship and Lotor started the slow trudge towards the raider.

_Zethrid?_

“Leave her in there,” Lotor said. “Let her cool down a bit and think about what she’s done.”

Narti laughed and they started hunting Ezor all over again.

 

* * *

 

It just kept _happening._ Ezor kept escaping to rampage through the ship and they kept having to hunt her down. Meanwhile when she stayed put she gave them nothing and Lotor couldn’t bring himself to torture her, couldn’t bring himself to ask Narti to rifle through her mind. They were at an impasse.

He was on watch with Acxa one evening on the bridge when it happened for the fifth time and he groaned, sliding down in his chair and rubbing at his temples.

“Lockdown procedures?” Acxa asked with a put-upon sigh.

“Why bother?” Lotor muttered. “She’ll just escape, _again_. This is a waste of time. Let’s just see what she does.”

Acxa shrugged and pulled the security footage up on the main screen.

Ezor made her way to the hangar and wandered around a bit, staring at the fighters, and then she headed into the cargo bay to rifle through their supplies. She seemed to get bored of that soon enough so she went into the medbay, and then the astrometrics lab, and the entertainment deck. She paused for a bit longer than usual in the hydroponics bay, looking at the flowers there, smelling them and gently caressing their petals before picking one carefully and making her way onwards.

After almost an hour since her escape she finally found Zethrid on the training deck and Zethrid turned in surprise at the intrusion, shutting down the battle sequence she’d been in the middle of. The sentries powered down as the two of them stared at each other for a long tense moment before Ezor was striding forward and offering the flower she was still holding to Zethrid and then they were- _kissing_ again, and Lotor sighed.

“Shut it down,” he said as Acxa laughed.

“You’re sure it’s safe to leave them alone with each other?” she asked with a smirk.

“I’m not watching this,” he said.

“Very well,” Acxa said and the security feed shut off, the main viewscreen returning to the standard view of deep space. “What now?”

“I don’t know,” Lotor said slowly. Admitting it felt like failure but suddenly he felt lighter, too.  “I’m- completely lost, Acxa. I don’t know what to do at all.”

Acxa looked over at him softly and then stepped forward to press a gentle kiss to his forehead. “Let it go, then,” she said quietly. “Let it work itself out.”

“Do you really think it could?” he asked.

“It will,” Acxa said, a little more fiercely now. “It will.”

 

* * *

 

Lotor stopped trying to keep Ezor contained after that, and tried not to watch as she entered into some kind of torrid affair with Zethrid, although that was difficult on such a small ship. The personal drama playing out in front of him had made him briefly forget about his larger troubles, but it all came back in full force when fifty mismatched ships warped out of deep space to surround them with no warning.

“They’re hailing us,” Acxa said nervously.

“On screen,” Lotor said, equally nervous but trying not to let it show.

A woman with similar coloring to Ezor appeared on screen. She was decked out in gold from her brow to her shoulders and she glared down at him imperiously.

“Prince Lotor,” she said.

“And you are?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

“I am Zarah Kahn, Queen of the Golden Raiders.”

“What do you want from me?” Lotor asked carefully.

“You have one of my girls,” she said. “I want her back.”

He tightened his hands over the arms of his chair. They were so fucked. The door to the bridge opened and Ezor waltzed in casually.

“Oh!” she said, her eyes wide. “Hello, mother.”

“Ezor,” Zarah said. “It’s good to see you are well. How are your captors treating you?”

“Prince Lotor has been quite hospitable,” Ezor said with a smile and a nod.

Lotor was suddenly speechless.

“It’s time to come home, Ezor,” Zarah said.

“About that,” Ezor said slowly, grinning down at him now. “Prince Lotor has a proposition for you.”

“Do I?” Lotor asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

“Yes, you do,” Ezor said firmly. She turned back to her mother on the viewscreen. “He’s going to keep me as a hostage, and in return for my safety you’ll agree to stop raiding him.”

“Is that so?” Zarah asked.

Ezor was standing by his chair now and she nudged him insistently in the shoulder.

“Uh. Yes,” Lotor managed, only stumbling over his words a little.

Zarah’s eyes narrowed dangerously and Lotor had to hold back a nervous gulp. If this went sideways they were fucked for sure.

“Very well,” Zarah said at last. “I hope you understand what this means, Prince Lotor?”

Ezor nudged him again and he cleared his throat. “Yes. I do,” he said, although he most certainly did not.

Zarah Kahn seemed to understand as much and she frowned at him, her eyebrows drawing down until there was a dark crease furrowing her brow. “If my daughter comes to any harm, you will answer to me.”

“I’ll keep her safe,” Lotor said and Zarah smiled.

“Very well,” she said. “Goodbye, Prince Lotor.”

The broadcast ended and just like that, he knew his bandit troubles were over.

Ezor yawned widely. “I think it’s nap time,” she said before running her fingers casually over the edge of one of Zethrid’s ears and walking out.

“Uh,” Zethrid said awkwardly.

Acxa laughed before turning back to her console.

“You may go,” Lotor said magnanimously and Zethrid blushed and scrambled to leave the bridge.

“Well this is a terrible idea,” Acxa said with a grin.

“For once we are in complete agreement,” he said.

 

* * *

 

Construction on his cruiser resumed without incident and Lotor finally felt some of his anxiety easing, the feeling of being trapped in a cage slowly fading.

Ezor was a delight to have around the ship, changing the atmosphere to something light and fun no matter what was happening. Not to mention she was an excellent pilot, a formidable fighter, and proved herself to be a loyal ally multiple times over within the first few weeks of joining his team.

The only problem of course was that Lotor could hardly bring himself to look at any of the security feeds anymore for fear of seeing something he shouldn’t. He’d thought Ezor and Zethrid would cool down over time but their displays of public affection only became more and more egregious.

He was heading to the training deck one evening when he heard a muffled moan from around the corner but he was already mid-stride and turning into the next hallway. He gasped and slapped a hand over his eyes, turning, but not before he’d seen- Zethrid, on her knees before Ezor, and quite a bit more of Ezor than he was prepared for.

“If you could _please_ -” he managed, voice coming out strangled, “ _not_ do that in the public corridors! You have rooms- you _both_ have rooms- use them!”

“Don’t be such a prude, Lotor,” Ezor said and he could practically hear her rolling her eyes. “Just because you’re not getting any doesn’t mean no one else should. Maybe you should actually go out and get laid tonight instead of training for the fifth time today.”

“My love life is none of your concern-”

“Whatever. Zethrid, why did you stop?”

And then there was heavy breathing and frankly obscene slick sounds and Lotor practically ran back to his own quarters. He found himself pacing restlessly, running his hands nervously through his hair. Was Ezor right?

What did he really have to fill his life other than his generals, his scheming, and the occasional life-threatening situation? He barely even went into the hydroponics bay these days, he’d been considering converting it into a second medbay. When was the last time he’d even left the ship at all aside from going on missions? Was he turning into some kind of... shut-in _loser_?

“Fuck,” he said.

They were docked in a port town to resupply, Acxa and Narti had gone out into the city to have some fun and he’d declined their invitation to join them so he could- train. For the third time that day. It had seemed to make sense at the time but now he understood the look Acxa had given him, like he was a total moron. “Fuck,” he muttered and dropped to his bed.

Maybe he _should_ go out there and just- get laid like Ezor said. He ran his hands through his hair again, suddenly nervous. For a long time the thought of hands on him had filled him with dread and disgust, but slowly that reaction had started to fade. He hadn’t been totally celibate since then, he’d slept with a few people- though that had mostly been to prove to himself that he still could, that he wasn’t somehow irreparably broken. But he’d had to get fall-down drunk every time to get himself to go through with it and that had just served to prove the opposite of what he’d intended so after those first few pathetic attempts he’d stopped trying.

Even that little had been ages, lifetimes ago. He barely even thought about it anymore, much less wanted- well. Anything. But seeing Ezor and Zethrid together and so deliriously happy made an old want stir inside him. He wanted a piece of what they had- even if it was just a bare broken sliver, even if it was just once.

“Alright,” he muttered quietly, coming to a decision and getting dressed in something other than armor for once.

“I’m going out!” he announced over the intercom. “Keep an eye on my ship!”

There was no answer of course, but that was fine. It was all going to be fine. Fuck, why was he so nervous?

He took a hoverbike into the city and found a bar, close enough to the city center to be reputable but not so close that it would be full of tourists and rich assholes. That was how normal people did these things, wasn’t it? He’d figure it out.

He found an empty seat at the counter and ordered a drink, looking around. The other patrons were there in pairs or with groups of friends. Maybe he should have gone somewhere else, but then the bartender was handing him a glass of whisky and he took a slow drink, his shoulders high and tense. What was he _doing_? This was a terrible idea.

“Can I buy you a drink?”

Lotor flinched a little and looked over to see a tall man standing beside him. He was handsome and lean, though definitely not a fighter. He had dark skin and a strong jaw, the sides of his head were shaved but on top he had a shock of chestnut curls pulled back into a tail, braided with gold beads. His warm amber eyes were hidden behind thick rimmed glasses.

“I already have a drink,” Lotor said, looking back at the glass in his hand.

“I know,” the man said, “but I’m pretty sure that’s what you’re supposed to say when you want to come talk to someone.”

“Oh,” Lotor said, blushing and feeling like an idiot.

“Mind if I sit?” the man asked, nodding towards the empty barstool beside him.

“Uh. Sure,” Lotor said slowly.

The man smiled and sat before holding out his hand. “I’m Sandir- and you are?”

“Lotor,” he said cautiously. But there was no recognition in the man’s eyes as Lotor reached out to take his hand and he relaxed a little.

“What brings you here, Lotor?” Sandir asked.

“I thought I’d try and get laid,” he said bluntly, suddenly completely unable to come up with any other response.

The man grinned, his eyes crinkling endearingly. “I meant- what brings you to this planet, but I mean, that’s good to know. That would have been my next question, for sure.”

Lotor looked down, blushing even harder now. “I’m- I’m here to resupply. I’m a- merchant.”

Sandir laughed easily, throwing his head back. “A merchant? I don’t believe that for a second. I’ve never met a merchant with less than three chins. A pirate, maybe. That seems more your style.”

Lotor stiffened nervously, but then he realized Sandir was just making a joke and found himself smiling in response.

“I don’t think I’d tell you if I was.”

Sandir looked behind him, grinning at a table of three guys sitting at the back of the room and Lotor stiffened, trying to hold back the flood of bad memories.

“Who are they?” he asked coldly.

“My friends,” Sandir answered, oblivious to the fact that anything was wrong. “They’re going mad because they swore you’d never give me the time of day. They said you were out of my league and to be honest, I agreed with them.”

“Oh,” Lotor said, suddenly relieved. They chatted easily for a while, more easily than he’d thought possible. Sandir bought him a drink and explained his current engineering project at length, and then he was leaning closer and saying-

“Do you want to go somewhere private?”

Lotor found himself shrugging and agreeing. He had a good feeling about this.

“You wanna come back to my place?” Sandir asked as they climbed onto Lotor’s bike.

“I’d rather get a room somewhere,” he said nervously. “I’ll pay.”

“Whatever you want,” Sandir said, flushed and beaming as he pressed up against Lotor’s back and wrapped his arms around his waist.

They found a relatively nice hotel and Lotor paid for the room before they headed upstairs. As soon as the door shut behind them Sandir was pressing him back against it, kissing him passionately. It was- good. Lotor closed his eyes and let it happen, shivering when Sandir yanked his shirt out of his pants and ran his hands up over his sides and chest before letting his hands drop lower, gripping his ass tightly.

Lotor pushed him away, leading him back towards the sofa standing against one wall of the room and shoving him down before straddling him, taking his face to kiss him again. Sandir’s hands were warm and strong over his waist, his back. He pushed Lotor’s coat off his shoulders, his fingers were nimble as he unbuttoned Lotor’s shirt. Fuck, it was good. He’d forgotten how _good_ it could be. He was hot all over, all he wanted was more.

He moaned when Sandir sank his hand into his hair and pulled his head to the side so he could kiss and lick Lotor’s neck enthusiastically, biting at the lobes of his ears.

“You’re so fucking hot,” Sandir whispered and Lotor laughed breathily, delighted. He was hard and shifted closer so he could press himself against the other man, aching for something, _anything_ , more.

Sandir tightened his arms over Lotor’s waist before he twisted, turning to tip Lotor down onto the couch on his back. They kissed passionately for a while longer and then Sandir was taking Lotor’s wrists to pin his hands up over his head and the haze of arousal was fading.

“I wanna fuck you,” Sandir said breathily and Lotor stiffened. He couldn’t. He _wouldn’t-_ “I wanna make it so good for you, baby-”

That word was like ice down his back and suddenly Lotor just wanted to get _out._

“ _No_ -” he gasped, shoving Sandir away and jerking off the couch to stumble unsteadily over to the window. He pushed it open and leaned on the windowsill, shaking as he tried to take deep steadying breaths.

“What’s wrong?” Sandir asked, clearly confused.

Fuck. Everything was wrong. The cool air was helping at least, and Lotor breathed deeply as he fought to stay in the present.

“What did I do?”

“Nothing,” Lotor bit out, closing his eyes. “I think I’d- I think I’d better go.”

“No, wait-” Sandir said, standing uncertainly. “Come on, don’t just- don’t shut me out. You were so hot for it before, and now you’re freaking out. Obviously I did something wrong. Just- tell me what it was and I swear, I won’t do it again. I swear. _Please_.”

Lotor could tell Sandir was being honest but suddenly he wasn’t sure it would be enough to bring this night back on track.

“Lotor,” Sandir said, taking another few steps towards him but pausing in the middle of the room, too nervous to come closer. “Please- just. Do you want to fuck me, instead? Or- or if that’s off the table, just- let me suck you off. Or we can go back to what we were doing before, what was working. Or we could go downstairs and just, just- have a drink. But please don’t go. Not like this.”

Lotor closed his eyes, still struggling to steady himself. He couldn’t keep running from this. Maybe this was the moment, maybe this was when he could finally be honest.

“I-” he started and had to pause, licking his lips nervously. “I won’t let you fuck me,” he said at last, quiet but firm. “And- and don’t try to hold me down. And don’t call me- baby.”

“I can do that,” Sandir said, drawing closer. “I can do that, of course. Thank you.” He put his hands on Lotor’s naked shoulders carefully, gently, and Lotor shivered.

“Is there anything I _should_ do?” Sandir asked with a small hopeful smile. “What do you like?”

Lotor paused. He’d liked a lot of things- before. Back at the Academy, before then. He’d liked almost everything. And now he found himself standing in the middle of a minefield, afraid to take a step in any direction.

“I don’t know,” he breathed out. That was too much to admit to a random one-night-stand, too much even for a close dedicated lover, which wasn’t something he would ever be likely to find anyway. Shit. He needed to just- _go_ , before he ended up embarrassing himself any further.

“Alright,” Sandir was saying, gently tightening his hands over Lotor’s shoulders. “We’ll take it slow, we’ll figure it out.”

He leaned forward to kiss Lotor’s neck, open mouthed and slick, running his tongue up to press against a particularly sensitive spot behind his ear.

He shivered at that, surprised to feel arousal waking inside him once again.

“Alright?” Sandir murmured.

“Yeah,” he managed as he felt Sandir’s hands slide around his waist, up his sides and chest.

“I’m glad,” Sandir whispered. “I want you to stay. I want you to feel good. You’re so beautiful.”

Lotor moaned as Sandir bit at his neck, and then he was relaxing again and letting Sandir pull him back towards the bed.

“I want you to fuck me,” Sandir breathed out, wide eyed. “Is that- is that ok? Is that something you’d be into?”

“Yeah,” Lotor whispered and watched as he slipped out of his clothes. Was it normal for an engineer to be this lean- this well-built? And then Sandir was helping him with his boots and pants and pushing him to the bed before straddling him. Before long he was shifting to sink down on Lotor’s leaking cock and he couldn’t think about anything else anymore.

It was good, it was so good that for a while he couldn’t think of anything but how amazing he felt in this moment. Sandir was gasping and moaning above him as Lotor stared, thrusting up into him. He couldn’t imagine anything better than this, anything better than the way he felt right now.

Sandir shuddered, folding down over him as his body seized up and he tightened his hands over Lotor’s shoulders, whimpering as he came.

“Oh fuck,” Lotor managed, thrusting up into him in earnest, and then he was there too and tipping over.

Sandir laughed a little and shivered before he pulled away and dropped to the sheets next to him.

“I’m glad you stayed,” he said, running his fingers lightly over Lotor’s chest.

“Me too,” Lotor said, smiling.

“Any chance you’ll want to stick around until morning? We could have breakfast and then do this again.”

“I have to get back to my ship,” Lotor said regretfully. He wasn’t about to just- _sleep_ next to a stranger. He wasn’t a total idiot.

“Ok,” Sandir said, wincing a little in disappointment. “Do you think you could- do you think you could just- stay, for a bit? And- and hold me? For a little while? Just until I fall asleep?”

“I can do that,” Lotor said, running his fingers gently over his side.

Sandir smiled and turned around, letting Lotor wrap his arm around him. Within the hour he was asleep and Lotor forced himself to rise, getting dressed again.

He felt oddly good, settled and relaxed as he made his way down the stairs. He felt like a dam had broken, like he might want to do this again.

He walked out past the bar in the lobby and froze as he noticed the Galra sentries, and between them- Quartermaster Janka.

By now Lotor had dozens of minor Galra Commanders paying him off but Janka was different- Janka was his whale. If he could get Janka in his pocket he could have anything he wanted. He grinned, pulling a small tracker out of a hidden compartment in his belt.

“Quartermaster Janka,” he said in a friendly tone as he dropped down in the chair beside the man, patting him on the back so he could slide the tracker up under his collar. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Janka seemed a little surprised as he looked up into his face. “Lotor?” he asked slowly.

“Long time no see,” Lotor said, grabbing Janka’s glass casually out of his hand to take a drink.

“What do you want?”

“Oh, just to catch up,” Lotor said, grinning.

Janka sneered up at him. “I’d heard about your bandit troubles, but I didn’t expect it to be bad enough to see you here, crawling over to beg me for scraps.”

Lotor froze, his hand tightening over the glass.

“Tell me, Lotor,” Janka asked, smirking. “How much do you go for these days? A hundred thousand GAC, was it? Or have you raised your prices?”

There was static filling his head as Janka laughed. A tall four-armed woman tottered over on impossibly high heels to drape herself over Janka’s shoulders.

“Our room is ready, baby,” she all but moaned before looking up straight at Lotor. “Who’s this?” she asked, frowning.

“No one,” Janka said dismissively as he stood. “You’re pathetic, Lotor,” he said with smirk. He tossed a stack of cash on the bar before he and his woman were gone.

Lotor stared after them, and then gasped in shock as the glass he was holding shattered in his hand.

“Aw jeez,” the bartender groaned. “You’ll have to pay for that.”

Lotor looked down at his bloody hand and then stood slowly. “That should cover it,” he said numbly, gesturing to the cash Janka had left. He picked the biggest shards of glass out of his palm, leaving them on the bar before turning to go.

“Acxa, Narti,” he said over of their emergency frequency. “I need you. Now.”

“Lotor?” Acxa asked right away. “Are you alright? What’s wrong?”

“I need you to drop everything and meet me right away,” he said slowly, looking around for a vantage point on the hotel. He found a crate in a nearby alley that would give him a good view of the front door and pulled out his datapad, monitoring the tracker he’d placed.

“What happened?” Acxa asked.

“ _Now_ ,” he hissed, sharing his coordinates, and there were no more questions.

Twenty minutes later they were joining him in the alley and Acxa took one look at him before her eyes widened in concern.

“What happened?” she asked, reaching for him.

He jerked back from her, standing from the crate.

“Take position on the roof,” he bit out. “Be ready.”

She pulled away with a hurt expression and then she was doing as she was told. Narti and Kova were staring at him but at least she didn’t try to touch him. He couldn’t have handled it just now anyway.

They waited another tense ten minutes, and then Quartermaster Janka was leaving the hotel, trailed by his sentries.

“Follow them,” Lotor said. They did for a few blocks until he couldn’t take it anymore. “ _Now,_ ” he ordered and Acxa was taking out the sentries while he rushed forward to drag Janka off into an alley.

“Lotor?” he exclaimed, eyes wild with fear.

“Narti,” Lotor said, ignoring the man in favor of looking at her, and only at her. “I want his access codes. Get them for me. Now.”

Narti stepped forward and pressed her hand over Janka’s face, doing as she was told. She took Lotor’s hand, showing him echoes of what she was seeing.

Janka jerked and convulsed, eyes wide as he tried to resist, but it was no use.

“Who’s pathetic now?” Lotor snarled at him, and then Narti was feeding him the codes and he was rifling through the Galra’s pockets to find his datapad and connect it to his own, downloading all his files.

“I’ll destroy you for this,” Janka managed, not quite in his right mind.

Lotor grinned down at him darkly. “You can try,” he said. “Narti, make sure he doesn’t remember this.”

She nodded at him, tightening her hold on Janka, and then it was over.

 

* * *

 

Lotor threw himself into the data, doing little else for weeks. There was so much, Janka’s operations were extensive, he was the center of all commerce within the Empire, he had his grubby little hands in every Commander’s pocket.

Everything seemed in order at first but Lotor kept looking. There was something there, something he could use. There had to be. It took weeks of sleepless nights and research and secret missions to verify the locations and nature of various facilities but finally he started seeing the discrepancies, the hints that there was something under the surface of Janka’s clean color-coded shipment schedules.

When he finally found it he pushed himself back from the table with a laugh, giddy with success, and immediately headed to the bridge.

“Acxa, change course to the following coordinates,” he said, giving her the location of the tracker he’d planted back at the hotel. Janka still hadn’t found it and it was broadcasting the location of his fleet loud and clear. “We’re going after Janka.”

“Hell, Lotor,” Acxa said, wincing as she looked at him. “Maybe you should get some sleep first, you look like shit.”

“I’ll sleep after, this can’t wait.”

“Yes, sir,” she muttered and turned to her console to set the course.

Lotor couldn’t stop reading the data over and over again as they traveled, making sure he hadn’t made a mistake. But he hadn’t, he could see it so clearly now despite the exhaustion, despite the vague dizziness and nausea that filled him. He wasn’t sure the last time he’d eaten but that didn’t matter now, nothing mattered but this. He was going to rip Janka apart.

“Why are you here, Lotor?” Janka asked once they hailed his ship. He sounded bored and annoyed and Lotor grinned up at him a little wildly.

“Trust me, Janka,” he said slowly. “You’ll want to speak to me. In private.”

Janka’s eyes narrowed and he seemed a little nervous now. “Very well. But make it quick.”

When Lotor stood to leave the bridge Acxa and Narti made to follow but he shook his head. “I’m going alone. Stay with the ship.”

“Lotor-” Acxa said.

_Together._

“No,” Lotor said firmly, pulling away from Narti’s touch. “I’ll be back soon.”

His heart was pounding with vicious excitement as he made his way to Janka’s ship and followed the sentries to his office. Soon they were alone and Lotor laughed giddily.

“You’ve been a busy boy,” he said, throwing his datapad to Janka’s desk. The man seemed a little taken aback as he reached for it slowly. “I’ll admit it took me a while, but I found it in the end. You always had ambitions beyond your station, haven't you? I didn’t think you had it in you to do anything about it, but I’m so glad you’ve proven me wrong.”

“What are you talking about?” Janka asked, but the terror in his eyes meant he already knew.

Lotor laughed again. “You’ve been behind no less than five assassination attempts against my father, and that’s just what I can prove. There’s more, isn’t there? But that doesn’t matter. Five is enough, more than enough.”

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Janka managed, but Lotor stared pointedly at the datapad and Janka turned to flip through the report he’d assembled. “This is- this is my data,” Janka said slowly. “How did you-”

His eyes widened and he looked up. “The hotel. It was at the hotel.”

“That’s right, you stupid fuck,” Lotor snarled, slamming his hands to Janka’s desk just to see him flinch. “I would have done this anyway, but after what you said to me- I’m going to make it _hurt_. You’re mine now, do you understand? I fucking _own_ you.”

“What do you want?” Janka asked quietly, closing his eyes in resignation.

Lotor straightened. What did he want? He was a bottomless well of _want_. He wanted to be happy and safe. He wanted to be strong, he wanted the Galra Empire kneeling at his feet, he wanted to be untouchable- he wanted no one to ever be able to hurt him again.

“I want everything,” he said at last. “And you’re going to give it to me. We’ll start with you addressing me properly, as befits my station. And you’re going to give me ten percent off the top- from all your operations. And then you’re going to give me anything else I ask for. Do you understand me?”

Janka’s hands tightened into fists and he looked down, furious and terrified and most importantly, cowed. He swallowed loudly, and when he looked back up at him it was with the proper respect.

“Yes, Prince Lotor.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning- the epilogue that follows probably won't make much sense for those of you who haven't read [Waiting for a Different Dawn](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16183940/chapters/37817831), but tbh I think these four chapters work pretty well for a standalone fic if you don't feel like working your way through the 60k shotor monstrocity I've written.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and commenting!


	5. Epilogue: The Man with the Metal Arm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my amazing beta [Lutz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lutz/pseuds/lutz)!

 

* * *

  

“ _Stop-_ ” Lotor managed to gasp out, coughing.

“You know how to make it stop,” Sendak said with a cruel laugh and tightened his grip on the back of his neck before shoving his face back into the toilet bowl, under the water. Lotor struggled but Sendak was so much bigger than him, his hand on his neck was like iron, his other hand holding Lotor’s wrists together behind his back as strong as any shackles.

“Ease up, Sendak,” he heard Haxus say, that fucking spineless worm. He was too much of a coward to join in but he was glad to stand here and watch Sendak torture and humiliate him.

Sendak yanked him out of the water. “Just say it, Lotor,” he said into his ear while he gasped for breath, trying to fill his aching lungs. “Say you don’t belong. There’s no room for half-breeds at the Academy. _Say it._ ”

“Fuck you, Sendak,” Lotor forced out, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, steeling himself for what was coming. He couldn’t panic- if he panicked now that would be the last thing he’d ever do. He wasn’t going to give Sendak the satisfaction, wouldn’t show fear no matter how it overwhelmed him.

His mind was racing as he tried desperately to figure out what to do, how to get out of this. Maybe if he endured it long enough Sendak would get bored, but then he’d probably just move on to something else, something worse. Maybe if he managed to scream someone would hear, someone would- but no, no one was coming to help him, he knew that much for sure.

“Have it your way,” Sendak said and pushed him under again.

Lotor struggled against him, and then he forced his body to go limp. His lungs were burning, if this went on for much longer he wouldn’t have to fake passing out, it would happen for real.

“Aw, shit,” Haxus said, sounding far away. “Did you kill him? Fuck-”

“Shut up,” Sendak said, yanking Lotor out of the water. His grip was looser now, he was worried. He wasn’t ready when Lotor jerked out of his hold, slamming his head back into his face. He heard a crack and had no time to wonder what it was, no time to feel pleased. He was already twisting and pulling the dagger out of his boot, lashing out blindly.

Sendak jerked back with a roar, clutching at his face. His eye was just a mess of blood and he was gasping with pain.

“Oh shit,” Haxus said, raising his hands defensively as Lotor rose to his feet and turned his attention to him. “Oh shit- wait-!”

Lotor stalked over and took him by the throat, shoving him to his knees.

“Wait- please!” Haxus begged but Lotor didn’t answer. He stamped down on the Galra’s knee, crushing it easily, almost casually, before letting him drop screaming to the ground.

Sendak was trying to struggle to his feet now, still holding his bleeding face, but Lotor kicked him in the chest and left his foot there, keeping him down.

“I belong, Sendak,” he said, breathing hard as he pushed his wet hair back from his face. “ _I belong!_ ”

Sendak laughed a little hysterically and Lotor pushed his foot down until he could practically hear the creaking of the Galra’s ribcage.

“If you ever touch me again I’ll fucking _kill_ you. Do you understand me? _Do you understand me_ , _Sendak_?”

**_“Lotor-”_ **

He couldn’t help screaming as he felt his arm break but he didn’t stop, slamming his other elbow into the Galra fighter’s face, over and over until he went still and silent on the sand. Fuck, it was agony, but Lotor gritted his teeth and moved to stand, leaning heavily on his sword. The grip was slick with blood and sweat but he just held on tighter, refusing to let go even for a second. He swayed a little once he got to his feet, and then he raised his sword above his head victoriously as the arena went wild. Everyone in the audience was standing, clapping as they chanted his name. It was glorious, it was the best feeling in the world.

A gong rang out and he watched as the ticker counted up- forty seven now. He laughed a little. This was better than he could have hoped for, better than anyone had ever done before. He could stop- he could stop now and he’d still go down in history. But he could take one more. Just one more, and maybe one more after that.

He looked up into the imperial box to see if his father was watching and frowned to see the witch there, whispering something in his ear. Zarkon turned to go but Dayak grabbed his arm, saying something heatedly and gesturing down into the arena. Zarkon just shook her off and left. Dayak looked back at Lotor, her expression momentarily soft and hurt, but then she tightened her lips and gave him a nod. He smiled back at her, wincing as blood dripped into his eye. One more. He could do one more.

The door was already opening and the next challenger walking in. He had a beast on a chain, some kind of wolf. Lotor frowned- that wasn’t allowed. He’d be well within his rights to refuse the match, but then this would be over and he wanted to take one more, wanted to hear them chanting his name one more time.

He set his jaw and adjusted his stance. He’d take this, this and anything else they threw at him. He’d show them all who he was.

**_“Lotor!”_ **

The back of the cargo ship was dark, and that much at least was a kindness. He gritted his teeth as he waited for the man to just- _finish_. He was drunk though, and it was taking him ages, and Lotor wished the ground would swallow him up. How could he do this? How could he allow this?

Tears of shame were prickling at his eyes but he held them back. It was almost over, it was just this once. He just needed to get out of the central system but his fighter was out of fuel and he just needed-

He winced as the man sped up, but that was a good thing, right? It meant he was close, that this was almost over.

“Look how far you’ve fallen, little prince,” the man said with a drunken laugh-

**_“LOTOR!”_ **

“Fuck, I can’t- I can’t do this anymore,” Shiro forced out, ripping himself away from Narti, away from Lotor lying comatose on the bed between them. He ran his hands through his hair restlessly. “It isn’t working! I can’t-”

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. “He’s there- he’s right there! Why won’t he wake up?”

He’d been conscious in the rift and Shiro had thought that maybe he’d be alright, but by the time they’d gotten him back to the command ship he was gone, asleep or something like it. The Galra doctors were helpless, so were the Altean healers.

When Narti had first suggested they do this- root around in his mind like this- he’d been horrified. But she thought it could work, she thought they could pull him out, and it had been months now, of this, of nothing, of Lotor slowly wasting away. Shiro was desperate.

The first time they’d tried it Shiro had passed out. Lotor’s mind was blood and pain, static and smoke, a shattered mirror in a dark room. But Shiro was better at this now, he could see underneath, could see that Lotor was still in there, somewhere.

_Tired._

“We all are,” Shiro said but she shook her head.

_Lotor._

“Lotor’s tired?” he asked.

Narti nodded.

“Fuck,” he said, dropping his face into his hands. Yeah. It was no wonder- after everything he’d seen- He had no idea how Lotor had even managed to go on for as long as he had, propping himself up with small pleasures now and again while the rest of the time he was drowning. “I think we have to stop for today. I think maybe we should stop for good. I don’t know. I don’t know what to do.”

Narti put her hand on his shoulder but didn’t say anything else.

“Can I just- can I have some time alone with him?” he whispered and Narti looked up, nodding before getting off the bed.

“Narti?” he asked. “Let’s see if we can get some flowers for his room, for when he wakes up. I think he’d like that.”

Narti smiled, nodding as Kova meowed pitifully before jumping up into her arms.

“Hey,” Shiro said once they were alone, taking Lotor’s hand gently in his own. “Hey,” he repeated, whispering now. “Come back to me,” he said. “I need you to come back to me.”

There was no answer but he hadn’t really expected one either. He sighed and lay down carefully beside him, resting his left hand over Lotor’s chest to feel him breathing before closing his eyes. Like this, he could almost pretend everything was normal. Almost, but not quite. Lotor’s breathing was painfully slow, his heartbeat so faint Shiro could barely feel it.

If he’d just kept his fucking promise this wouldn’t have happened, everything would have been fine. But Shiro couldn’t be angry with him either, not with how desperately he wanted him back.

He didn’t know how much time passed before there was a knock on the door and Dayak walked in carefully.

“It’s late, High Commander Shiro,” she said. “You should return to your quarters, get some rest. I’ll sit with him and let you know if anything changes.”

“Thank you, Dayak,” Shiro said, sitting up. “But I’m going to stay with him just a little longer.”

“Very well, High Commander” she said with a respectful nod before leaving.

Shiro sighed, looking down at Lotor beside him. He’d been conscious in the quintessence field, he’d been more or less aware- what happened? If Shiro could just figure it out, maybe he could fix this somehow. Sometimes he felt like he was on the verge of it but it never solidified. But he found his thoughts drawn back to the rift constantly.

Lotor had been conscious in the rift, in the quintessence field.

Maybe he just needed- more.

Shiro’s eyes widened and he drew in a sharp breath. It was crazy, absolutely insane. Quintessence had gotten them into this mess, it could only make everything worse. But now that he’d had the idea it wouldn’t leave him alone. Maybe he could just- try. Just a little. Just to see what would happen.

Slowly he pressed his Sincline hand to Lotor’s chest, taking a deep breath. They didn’t need to go back to Daibazaal, he could do this here. The quintessence field was everywhere, just on the other side of the curtain of reality. It was always pulling at him these days, after he’d gone into the rift it was always just at the edge of his awareness, whispering to him. It would be so easy to just- reach in there, just a little, and take what he needed.

He leaned forward to stare at Lotor’s face as he finally gave in to the whispers, his arm glowing with the energy of the rift, pulsing with quintessence. He fed that power into Lotor slowly, carefully, afraid of giving him too much and just making everything worse.

Lotor’s heartbeat sped up, and then his lips were parting and he was arching up off the bed with a gasp.

“Lotor?” Shiro whispered, yanking his hand back and letting the glow fade. “Lotor- can you hear me?” he asked.

Lotor opened his eyes, glowing a pure white like the energy of the rift. Fuck, Shiro should have had Narti here so they could see if Lotor was ok. But it was too late now, he’d already done it. What if he’d just fucked everything up?

“Lotor, can you see me? Do you know who I am? Say something, please-”

Lotor licked his dry lips slowly. “Shiro?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Shiro said with a laugh. His vision was blurry, he was crying. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

“The rift,” Lotor whispered. “You came for me.”

“Yeah,” Shiro said. “Yeah, I did. Stay with me, don’t disappear.”

“I have to-” Lotor made to sit up but Shiro kept him pressed to the bed. He was so weak now, but he’d be strong again soon, they’d find a way to fix this, to move forward. “The colony- Voltron-”

“I took care of it,” Shiro said firmly. “You don’t have to worry. You can rest now, I’m taking care of everything.”

He leaned down to press a kiss to Lotor’s lips and when he pulled back Lotor seemed to be smiling.

“All you have to do now is stay with me, I’ll take care of everything else. Alright?”

“Alright,” Lotor whispered, and reached to take Shiro’s hand.

 

_Fin._

 

__

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The image at the end originally posted on tumblr [here](http://barbitone.tumblr.com/post/180568167480/ko-fi-society6-commission-prices-vary-ask)\- please reblog, don't repost ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr at [barbitone](http://barbitone.tumblr.com/) \- NSFW art at [barbitone-afterdark](https://barbitone-afterdark.tumblr.com/)


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